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‘Anabta, Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Sun 24.1.10, Morning

Place: 'Anabta CP Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)
Observers: Yael B., Edna L., Ditza (reporting) Translator: Louise L.
Jan-24-2010
| Morning

9.05

Anabta – There are no soldiers. An army jeep is parking on the side.  

9.30

Irtah – We enter the checkpoint trying to get a glance of the rooms, but of course, a guard immediately orders us to move away. We manage to read the sign that wishes the people coming out “a pleasant and safe stay”, how considerate! No doubt that the guards of the civilian administration are trying very hard to make the workers feel good when they start their day at the 

A man coming out through the turnstile tells us that he has spent an hour and a half at the checkpoint, even though there is no line and very few people are passing at this hour. Another Palestinian complains that he has been waiting for two hours.

They complain and tell us that the checkpoint is closed between 8.00-9.30 and 10.00-11.00 on Fridays. It is important to find out why.

The two Palestinians who are talking to us have many more complaints about the checkpoint and the way it is working, complaints we have heard many times before. We ask the guard, who sent us away, to talk to the person in charge, but he is not present at the checkpoint, and neither is his deputy. (We are not surprised by this answer.) We demand to meet the person who actually is in charge at the checkpoint this very moment. He says that he will tell him. The guard does not go to the main building and we do not see him calling anybody. When we tell him so, he claims that he has called. After 15 minutes we turn to him again. This time he says that he boss is at a meeting and he does not know when it will end. We are waiting another 10 minutes, but of course nobody shows up, so we leave at 10 o’clock. 



 

  • '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.  
      Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11
      Oct-28-2011
      Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11
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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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