Enclaves and checkpoints in Jerusalem - Preparatory tour for a video

The Jerusalem checkpoints cover a huge area. We needed a tour to explore options for filming the fourth video in the series produced by the organization. This is a photo report of the (non-final) track.

Bethlehem checkpoint, the Palestinian side, 7:30 a.m. A market that equips workers for a work week; The pressure hour has passed; The humanitarian checkpoint for women, the elderly and the sick is closed, as usual.

From there to Abu Dis - to a neighborhood of cottages that was included in Jerusalem after 7 years of legal battles. The Ministry of Defense made sure that the wall was built close to the walls and windows of the houses.

On the other hand, the tiny settlement of Mevo Zion, which is expecting expansion in the future, has already won a fine playground and a community/event hall overlooking the Kidron landscape. The wall opposite miraculously opens to a security vehicle passing to Azaria (Area B under Palestinian security control).

And from there a trip through checkpoints and an apartheid road to a view from a hill in the a-Ram enclave by the Qalandiya checkpoint - uninterrupted work on the sunken road that will connect the settlers of Samaria straight to road 443 (leading to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv) without unnecessary checkpoints. And a certain epiphany: now it is clear why the formidable pedestrian bridge for the checkpoint passers-by is so long:  it starts with a large parking lot for buses, and at its edge, a large new settlement is planned at the former Atarot Airport.

And at the end of the tour - the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr 'Aqab that was left behind the wall - crowded buildings of poor quality, lack of municipal services for Jerusalem property taxpayers, disconnection from health and education services in Jerusalem, and lack of policing and personal security. The residents next to the wall mark their parking spaces on it …