‘Anabta, Deir Sharaf, Habla, Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Jit, Shave Shomron, Wed 13.4.11, Afternoon
Summary
The media this week are full of "Passover posts," as if there were anything new to say on the subject of the festival of freedom. To the women of MachsomWatch, it's quite clear that we belong on the barricades of protest, on the stage of equality and freedom for Palestinians as well as Israelis, and that our dissent, vocal and active for over a decade of particularly harsh Occupation, is a stand for the traditional Passover call to justice.
13:00 Habla, Gate 1392
The soldiers arrive, on time and on cue, but take their time to open the gates, and there are more than in the past. A brand new pedestrian gate, planted on Palestinian soil, adds to the already present gates on either side of the Security Barricade checkpoint. Progress or institutionalization of the already 44 year old Occupation? The latter, surely, as well as more shekels flowing into the "Who Profits" basket.
One of the three waiting Palestinians on our side, one of whom has complained that he can get no permit to work in Israel, tells the soldiers that "We are only three," and they use the pedestrian gateway, and walk over to the concrete building on the other side to be checked.
Two soldiers now close the vehicle checking gates near where we stand. Why? For protection against onslaught? If so, by whom?
13:10 – on the far side of the Separation Barrier, we spy the usual tractors, horse cart and a smaller bus than usual for the Bedouin schoolchildren, once again, a mixed group of boys and girls. Pedestrians from the far side cross the usual way, and the brand new pedestrian gate is forgotten. We see that a young man is putting on his belt as he walks towards Habla and we wonder if there's yet another innovation. A metal detector in the concrete bunker like building? Who knows? After all, we are not privy to the authorities' strategy or secrets.
13:15 – a flock of sheep and their shepherd wobble their way towards us, and a digger tractor is "searched" in the usual perfunctory manner. The reservist manning the vehicle gates has no idea why there are more soldiers than usual today, at least six or eight, "I'm only a reservist, don't know what is going on," and, yes, he will work on the Passover holiday.
13:35 – the friendly nursery owner is "entertaining" a nursery man from Qedumim, a settlement, and we continue to wonder at the paradoxes of Occupation, especially as the latter tells us, in Hebrew, "We are family."
14:00 – some twenty or so minutes later, outside the settlement itself we spy a Hummer, one of several, especially around settlements today, and higher up the hill, opposite the Palestinian village of Jit, there is a brand new water pipe and its brightly shining controls rising arrogantly from the ground, serving, we have no doubt, the settlement alone and not its nearest neighbor.
14:10 Jit Junction
A Hummer has stopped there, and soldiers are questioning a Palestinian, although there appears to be no vehicle in sight.
14:30 Deir Sharaf
Yesterday, a new United Nations report, 12.4.11, highlighted progress made by the Palestinian Authority in building institutions necessary for a functioning State, while stressing the need for Israel to roll back "measures of occupation." "In the limited territory under its control and within the constraints on the ground imposed by unresolved political issues, the PA has accelerated progress in improving its governmental functions," stated the report, entitled "Palestinian State-building: A Decisive Period." UN Special Coordinator Robert Serry commended the progress achieved by President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, but today the Palestinians disagreed with the analysis and expressed doubts that statehood would be achieved any time soon.
15:15 Shavei Shomron
The checkpoint is no more, and we can sail through easily, but fail to find the Roman ruins for which Sebastia is famous!
16:00 – on the other hand, checkpoints are still alive and well; at the former access point to the settlement, (before the settlers demanded their brand new access road), soldiers are beginning to set up a checkpoint, including spikes on the roadway, but wave us on, as they do the white car behind us with Israeli license plates.
16:15 Anabta
Traffic flows freely, but there is a Hummer and soldiers standing at the foot of the military lookout tower.
16:40 Irtah/Sha'ar Efrayim
Flocks of Palestinians step down from their contractors' buses or pickup trucks and walk directly into the terminal building; the flow is continuous, many people carrying strawberries or other packages.
We gather that there is no real information as to when the "closure" will begin for the week-long Passover festival when the OPT are closed off more than ever. Surprisingly enough, the Palestinians go on their way without being stopped at any checking booth, and walk straight through the building – homeward bound. As usual, complaints about the long wait in the morning, the time it gets to get to work, and one complaint about withdrawal of a work permit for no apparent reason.
'Anabta CP
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'Anabta CP
The checkpoint is located south of the village of 'Anabta, at the intersection of Road 60 (leading to Nablus at the entrance to Area A), with Road (57, 557, 5576) facing west towards the Einav settlement and the checkpoint at the exit from the West Bank - Figs checkpoint. Until 2010 we used to watch the intersection and report the long columns created due to a slow inspection of the vehicles in both directions.
Oct-28-2011Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11
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Deir Sharaf checkpoint
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Deir Sharaf checkpoint is located west of Nablus and south of the settlement of Shavei Shomron, at the entrance to the village of Deir Sharaf on the road leading to Nablus. The checkpoint was activated in early March 2009 after the Beit Iba checkpoint was closed. Palestinians are allowed through the checkpoint , but not for Israelis. Unlike the checkpoints leading to Qalqilya and Tulkarm, crossing of Israeli Palestinians is only allowed on Saturdays.
Nina SebaFeb-28-2024Deir Sharaf - the entrance to the village
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Habla
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Habla CP (1393)
The Habla checkpoint (1393) was established on the lands of the residents of Qalqilya, on the short road that
connected it for centuries to the nearby town of Habla. The separation barrier intersects this road twice and cut off the residents of Qalqilya from their lands in the seam zone.(between the fence and the green line).
There is a passage under Road 55 that connects Qalqilya to the sabotage This agricultural barrier is used by the farmers and nursery owners established along Road 55 from the Green Line and on both sides of the kurkar road leading to the checkpoint.
This agricultural checkpoint serves the residents of Arab a-Ramadin al-Janoubi (detached from the West Bank), who pass through it to the West Bank and back to their homes. The opening hours (3 times a day) of this agricultural checkpoint are longer than usual, about an hour (recently shortened to 45 minutes), and are coordinated with the transportation hours of a-Ramadin children studying in the occupied in the West Bank.
Nina SebaAug-18-2025Habla: The gate is in the process of closing
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Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)
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The checkpoint is for Palestinians only. It is the main barrier to the passage of workers from the northern West Bank to Israel. Workers with a permit to work in Israel and also for trade (with appropriate permissions), medicine, and visiting prisoners. One can cross the checkpoint only on foot. The checkpoint is located north of Road 557 and south of Tulkarm. Operated by a civil security company, opening hours: between 4:00 and 19:00 on weekdays. As members of Machsom Watch, we began our shifts to this location in 2007. We arrived before it opened at 4 in the morning and report since, on the harsh conditions and the long and crowded queues of workers. The workers who pass by continue their journey by transportation to work throughout Israel. In the first period of its activity, about 3,000 and then 5,000 people passed through this checkpoint every day. Due to the small number of checking points and arbitrary delays for long periods of time in the "rooms", workers feared losing their transportation. Hence workers leave their homes at 2:30 at night to be among the first. Today, 15,000 pass and the transition is faster. Workers are still leaving their homes very early to get past the checkpoint at 7 p.m. In an adjacent compound, there is a terminal for the transfer of goods on a commercial scale, using the back-to-back method.
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Jit Junction
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The checkpoint is located on Route 60 near at the junction with Route 55, near the village of Jit. There was a checkpoint for vehicles passing between the north and south of the West Bank, which was abolished towards 2010. Since then, surprise checkpoints have been set up there from time to time with a police or Border Police vehicle, and vehicles and their passengers are inspected.
Anat PolakJul-17-2025Yitzhar Road, Jit Junction: traffic jam
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Shave Shomron Checkpoint
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The checkpoint is on Route 60 (the main road to the northern West Bank), opposite settlement. Has been blocked to Palestinians since disengagement from Gaza and northern Samaria.
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