Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
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A wall separates Al Ezariya from Jerusalem. Ahead of us are A-Tur and Augusta Victoria. The checkpoint separates Al Ezariya, Abu Dis; here is the entrance to Jerusalem.
5:50 Olive Terminal
More than 100 stand and wait. How much did this humiliating checkpoint cost? The line does not move. Suddenly the turnstile, the entrance to the corridors, starts turning. By now more than 200 are waiting.
6:00 The sign says "Wellkome" (misspelled in Hebrew). One doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. The message is clear: we'll squeeze them dry.
Many crowd around the turnstile at the entrance to the checkpoint.
Someone asks: "Who are you? Peace now? What you do is useless -- look at the female soldiers playing with their cell phones, they don't see us."
Waiting time is c. 15 minutes until entry to begin inspection.
The new toilets are locked. "Left in their wrapping" says Michaela.
There is no assistance for those requiring the humanitarian lane. Who will open?
This checkpoint serves the entire eastern zone, including Jericho and the Jordan valley.
A policeman orders us to cross and not stand in the checkpoint.
Issawiya: A new checkpoint, a large pile of earth opposite the entrance to E1, Metzudat Edomim. The blocking pile, another instance of evil, is captured in the photograph.
In the one remaining entrance to Issawiya soldiers are sitting.
A-Tur: no border police, no disruptions.
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