How this Israeli checkpoint turns morning commute into 5-hour ordeal
The dangerous overcrowding at Checkpoint 300, through which an estimated 15,000 Palestinian workers pass daily into Israel, is a disaster in the making.
The scene each day at the Bethlehem checkpoint is horrifying. Lucky Palestinians who have managed to obtain authorization to work in Israel — the “ticket to life,” they call it — undergo an exhausting, agonizing wait that can last five hours, even when they arrive early in the morning to beat the crowds.
This is the journey thousands must make to reach jobs that help them survive the economic distress in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
