Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
After standing in a traffic jam near Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives (as private cars of anyone who does not live there are not allowed to descend to the Old City, in order to leave the road open for the many buses carrying people on their way to prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque) – we finally reached the checkpoint close to 19:20 a.m. At the checkpoint exit tickets are sold for buses taking people towards the Old City. There are also the normal public transport buses.
On Ramadan-month Fridays a temporary checkpoint is placed on the Palestinian side in front of the regular checkpoint situated in a built structure. Following the latter and before the temporary checkpoint is a shaded area for the many soldiers, policemen and Border Police forces taking a break. The temporary checkpoint on the downhill side towards the Palestinian side is divided into 3 tracks – women, men, and in the middle – a humanitarian track for people needy of help walking. There are several Red Crescent workers and wheelchairs, and if people have difficulty walking they help them in wheelchairs to get to the structure itself. Soldiers and Border Police inspect IDs and permits. Men who are visibly over 40-years old and children who are visibly under the permitted age (12 or 14? The inspectors themselves are not always sure of themselves about this…) pass unchecked, so as not to hold up the line.
Covering all 3 tracks is a shade and the place is filled with Border Policemen, officers and soldiers of the DCO as well as a male and female police personnel standing by. Commanding them all is a Border Police officer named Tzachi Zweig (we did not see all of his ranks that were hidden by a bullet-proof vest, but there was at least a single ‘fig leaf’ visible – so he was at least a major). He directs us to where we could stand aside in the shade, not get in their way but still see the goings-on. He was very friendly, to us and to Palestinians, and explained everything to us. He is told on his walkie-talkie that only he is permitted to talk with us, rather than any of the other police and Border Police present. He speaks Arabic, and as long as there is no crush, he also shows some flexibility, letting even children above the permitted age and men nearly 40 years-old. At times there are people saying they forgot their permit at home and in such cases the DCO soldiers look into their ID numbers and if the computer complies, they let them through.
Down the hill towards the Palestinian side we detected at least 2 UN observers and several young Palestinian policemen without permits who occasionally tried their luck, perhaps they would be allowed through. One of them wears a white ghalabiya, his black hair down to his shoulders, and even wearing a white turban. Naturally he is recognized as soon as he even tries to get close. Others too try their luck again and again when the personnel checking IDs change shifts, even we recognize them already. Once in a while the DCO soldiers come forth to order them away. All in all things are quiet and checkpoint crossing is orderly and calm. It is hot but not excessively so, and there are occasional breezes. Once in a while a donkey is heard braying from up the hill.
Towards 11:30a.m. – 12:00 noon pressure mounts, the hour of prayer is near. Tzachi calls out to his subordinates to be alert, and especially notice the young fellows who keep trying to get through. At some point, because of the crowding an elderly man trips against the ‘humanitarian line’ sign and falls to the ground. He is lightly injured and Tzachi has him evacuated by the Red Crescent personnel to the first aid post up the hill, where he will be examined by the female medic. Later Tzachi inquires on his walkie talkie whether the man did get his care, and later the army-medic came down sto report that the man was examined, bandaged and went on his way.
Towards 12-noon Tzachi and his subordinates lay 3 police barriers across the road and cancel the 3 previous tracks. While policemen and soldiers begin to dismantle the temporary checkpoint, Tzachi and the others let people in one by one after inspection. Elderly people call out to the youngsters to make way and let women and the elderly through. After some minutes the temporary checkpoint is totally dismantled.
We left at 12. Passage was swift without inspection in the actual checkpoint (only luggage going through metal detectors) and this time we descended to the road connecting Maale Adumim settler-colony to Jerusalem, and within minutes we reached the French Hill neighborhood.