‘Azzun ‘Atma, Ma’ale Efrayim, Tayasir, Wed 9.3.11, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
13:00 Agricultural gate (near Azzun Atma, on the way to Oranit)
The soldier at the gate won’t tell us the name of the gate or the hours it’s open.
13:10 Azzun Atma, southern checkpoint
Children and youths coming from Azzun Atma go through the revolving gate and cross Route 5 on their way home after school. No one entering from the opposite direction.
13:20 Shomron gate
Traffic flows in all directions, also at the Za’tara (Tapuach) junction. Heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on the way to:
14:30 Ma’aleh Efrayim checkpoint
This doesn’t appear to be manned. All of the Jordan Valley is green.
14:50 Hamra checkpoint
Little traffic in both directions, mostly taxis and trucks.
15:30 Tayasir checkpoint
Two trucks and a car waiting to cross to Tubas. The drivers wait for a sign and go through. Passengers going to the Jordan Valley get out of their vehicles for inspection. A taxi waits for the passengers who are being inspected. One of them indicates with hand motions how his belt was checked. A Palestinian driver waiting for his passengers approaches us: “Now things are OK. There were problems this morning. Yesterday afternoon I waited an hour and a half. The soldiers are good today. If the soldier’s good – there are no problems. If the soldier’s bad – it’s hard. If they see me talking to you, they’ll make trouble for me.” A short distance away a soldier is having a friendly chat with a Palestinian and they part with a handshake (not a common sight). He approaches us to hear what we’re saying; he’s a young officer with a boyish face. He says that in the morning and afternoon buses with pupils and teachers go through, which aren’t inspected. He tells us about buses coming from Nablus carrying children who go to school in the Jordan Valley. They’re delayed only “when things happen that aren’t supposed to happen. Then it can’t be helped; they have to wait a long time.” Not long ago they caught hunters with rifles. “It’s as if I were carrying my weapon in Tel Aviv” (really, an unusual sight!)
Karin notes, as usual, the contradiction between the sign indicating that this is Area A, where Israelis are forbidden entry, and the visible presence of soldiers in this area.
16:30 Hamra checkpoint (on our way back)
Nothing worth mentioning except for the fact that we drove through occupied territory.
'Azzun 'Atma
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'Azzun 'Atma
A Palestinian village of about 1,800 residents. The settlement of Sha'arei Tikva was established on its land adjacent to it, and the settlement of Oranit was established on its agricultural lands. By 2013, the separation fence had passed through the village and a checkpoint staffed by the army allowed the residents to cross from side to side. After building a massive wall surrounding the village and some of its agricultural lands, the residents went daily for five years to their lands that remained in the Seam Zone through the Oranit agricultural checkpoint (4). Since 2018 it has only opened during the olive harvest and the farmers have to pass daily at the Beit Amin / Abu Salman checkpoint (1447), about 3 kilometers north.From a report from March 24, 2021: "The farmers from Beit Amin and Azon Atma are happy that since February 21 the Oranit checkpoint .is going to be open 3 times a day, The farmers are really developing the place."
Report from July 14, 2024: "Ornit checkpoint is closed . The Beit Amin/Abu Salman agricultural checkpoint is closed (there is no contact with the military to check if it opens rarely), the Ezbat Jaloud checkpoint was opened once a day before the war.
Updated for July 2024
Apr-11-2019Azoun: The main entrance to village blocked now for several weeks
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Ma'ale Efrayim
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Ma'ale Efrayim On the road connecting Route 90 (the Jordan Valley road) to the Allon Road.
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Tayasir CP
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Located on road 5799, It is one of the checkpoints control the passage between the northern West Bank and the Jordan Valley. For a long time, it stood empty and open, with only a sign next to it warning against entering Area A. It was adjacent to an old military camp - now everything is neglected. How much money was invested here, and how much brainwashing was done to the soldiers of Netzah Yehuda and Kfir.
Today, it is very difficult to pass there. Many delays. Often, teachers from Tubas are not allowed to pass into the Valley to villages like Ein al-Bida where the local schools are located, and there are no classes. There are additional days when the checkpoint is closed. In general, there is a wait there of about two to four hours to go towards the Valley and also to return. Many times the Palestinians are forced to use the Hamra checkpoint, which also leads into Tubas and the West Bank, but there is also a huge queue there and a long wait.
Following a deadly attack on soldiers at the nearby base in February 2025, the checkpoint was completely closed for the time being. (Updated March 2025)
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