‘Anabta, Habla, Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Ras ‘Atiya, Mon 17.5.10, Afternoon
14:50 Ras A-Tira
We photographed the new gate blocking the entrance to
the village. Photo attached. As we arrived
they were wiring the gates for electricity.
15:00 Habla
We wanted to see whether a line had already formed at
Habla as a result of the change in the hours the checkpoint is open (now
from 07:00-08:00, 12:00-13:00, and 17:00-18:00). Three
people found a shady spot and fell asleep. They finished
their workday and are now waiting until 17:00 so they'll be allowed to
go home.
5:35 Deir Sharaf
Not manned.
15:40 Anabta
Traffic flows quickly without inspections.
16:15 Irtah
Laborers returning from a working in Israel. We
see them at the entrance to the installation where they're inspected,
and when they exit it. A group of women also goes through.
To my surprise, they ask to be photographed. Photos
attached. A man from Jenin is very angry – "When I was a
child you took my lands away, and now you're taking my dignity. On the
way to work on Fridays we're put in small, crowded rooms, 20 – sometimes
30 – people, why can't we cross with dignity?" He's
right. I promised to come this Friday.
A Palestinian Israeli relates that he's employed driving laborers from
the checkpoint to Israel, that the checkpoint is closed between 11:00
and 16:00; it opens briefly at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00. One
of the security personnel says that's not the case.
16:55-17:35 Habla
At 17:00 it opens. A continuous stream of
laborers. They arrive in twos and threes. Sometimes
a small group forms of people waiting, six or seven. They
approach the inspection area in groups of four. A man
without an ID isn't allowed through. The soldier explains
that "those are the rules, and I'm only following the rules." "What
if they fenced off your neighborhood and opened it for a total of only
three, non-continuous hours, what would you do?" I asked him. "I'd
certainly be very angry, but I'm only following orders here." "We
never only follow orders." A herd of sheep comes along;
by the time the shepherd has gone through inspection the sheep
dispersed. A horse and cart are inspected. Photos
attached.
'Anabta CP
See all reports for this place-
'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
-
Habla
See all reports for this place-
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
-
Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)
See all reports for this place-
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.
-
Ras 'Atiya
See all reports for this place-
The checkpoint is presently on the Separation Barrier roadway, manned and open 12 hours a day, from 6:30 to 18:30. West of it is the large Seam Line village whose school is attended by children from the nearby villages east of the Barrier and many of whose inhabitants have permits to work in Israel. How long this checkpoint will remain in place is unknown, since construction of the Separation Wall, just by the settlement of Alfe Menashe, east of the present Separation Barrier, is endless, as is the creation of a new road and, obviously, a new checkpoint.
-