Checkpoint 300 is a site-specific interactive installation that was made and performed within the main turnstile at terminal Checkpoint 300 in Bethlehem. A small camera rig was made and installed within a turnstile on the Bethlehem side to record the daily movement of Palestinians crossing the border for work. This footage was then projected onto the ground of the exact site, for the same commuters to see on their return that evening. The footage is activated as the turnstile is pushed, framing it as a spatial political technology aimed at controlling the movement of Palestinians. This fieldwork is focused on one of the busiest checkpoints in the West Bank, Checkpoint 300 where between 4,000 to 6,000 workers cross daily between 4 am to 7 am in order to reach their places of employment in East Jerusalem and Israel.

Checkpoint 300 is a major Israel Defence Forces checkpoint and is best known of all Israeli checkpoints, due to its location on the tourist route between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The crossing in its current format was established in 2005 as part of Israel’s separation wall and thousands of Palestinians from the southern occupied West Bank must cross this barrier to work in occupied East Jerusalem – part of the occupied Palestinian territory – or Israel. It can take up to three hours to cross the checkpoint during the rush hour, during the day when traffic is less the journey takes just a few minutes.

Checkpoint 300 image by Jaclynn Ashly/Al Jazeera

Palestinians have long complained of the volatile conditions at the checkpoint. The scene each morning is chaotic, with Palestinians squeezed together inside a single lane. When Israeli officials unlock the turnstile at the entrance of the checkpoint, Palestinians push forward, passing one by one, until it is locked once again. Often it is locked for long periods of time, without explanation. There is a humanitarian lane intended for elderly & sick people, students, women, children, and internationals to cross the checkpoint. Although this lane should be open daily Israeli staff at the checkpoint have rarely opened the humanitarian gate during the weekdays, forcing elderly people, women and children to join the very disorderly main lane.

It is best known of all Israeli checkpoints, due to its location on the tourist route between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Instead of what it formerly identified as “checkpoints,” the Israeli vocabulary now uses the term “international terminals.” A sign saying Bon Voyage and similarly, inside the crossing, signs that wish passengers a “pleasant stay” are hidden by several layers of metal fences. In effect, despite their physical existence side by side at the space of the border and the balanced approach they are intended to promote, the consumer-based approach of the international terminal, on the one hand, and the security-based approach of the checkpoint, on the other hand, send out conflicting messages.

This research project was based on a month-long period of fieldwork in 2019 conducted at the Checkpoint entrance during rush hour from 4 to 9am, culminating in an evening site-performance for workers returning home. As I did not have permission to enter the checkpoint the fieldwork was conducted at the “Bethlehem side” turnstile entrance/exit. The full height turnstile controls entry to the checkpoint – a checkpoint for the checkpoint.

A map of Checkpoint 300 based on the first Lulian Barba Lata’s field notes and drawings during her multiple passages of the checkpoint (source: Iulian Barba Lata)

Turnstiles represent an important component in the management of people’s movement through Checkpoint 300 (Braverman 2011). These turnstiles are made out of steel arms that according to technical engineer Tal Arbel, cited in Eyal Weizman’s (2007) Hollow Land are 55 cm long; that is, about 20–25 cm shorter than the standard turnstile arms commonly used in Israel. As Arbel explains, the Israeli Ministry of Defence asked the manufacturer to reduce the length of the arms, so that they can easily press against the body of Palestinian commuters, ensuring that nothing is hidden under their clothes (Weizman 2007). What this means to the people passing through is that parents are separated from their children and workers from their equipment.

A small DV camera installed in the ceiling of the turnstile (using a magnetic case) captured the continuous flow of traffic of workers from above.

The film (unedited) is then played back onto the floor of the turnstile via a small projector. As the film is projected back to scale it gives the effect of people passing through the turnstile in real time. The projection is triggered as the turnstile is activated, constantly revealing, and concealing the passing of people in the actual site below.