Deir Sharaf, Eliyahu Crossing, Habla, Sun 6.5.12, Morning
Habla
06:45 The gate is closed. It opens at 07:00. That in itself is very surprising, because summer has begun.
The soldiers take positions at the corners of the area with weapons drawn ostentatiously.
The crossing operates in a reasonable manner. More vehicles than in the past arrive at the Palestinian side and let people out. About 20-30 people are waiting beyond the gate.
07:15 A bus and minibus, now painted red, arrive with pupils. The drivers approach the gate but are ignored for a long time. In the meantime the children leave the bus and run around dangerously. Dalya tells the soldier before the Israel gate that the delay is unnecessary and that vehicles, including a horse cart, could endanger the children running around. The soldier, in fact, responds politely. Immediately afterwards the drivers are allowed entry for authorization and return to their vehicles to collect the children. One driver says to us: It’s like this every day when you’re not here.
07:40 Long lines from Alfei Menashe. Traffic is slow; two police officers and a soldier attempt to direct it.
Eliyahu crossing
Traffic is normal About 20 people wait to enter (most to Alfei Menashe).
At the same time, setters wait on the side for rides.
07:50 There is a military vehicle opposite 'Azzun, another opposite the Qedumim stop and one at Jit junction, guarding the hitchhiking station.
08:00 Deir Sharaf
The road, in very poor condition, as it has been for years, is full of vehicles, including many taxis. We stopped at the grocery to ask why the road-widening isn’t continuing. Here’s the explanation: The money is a donation from Germany, the contractor is from Hebron. Israel ordered the work stopped, with the excuse that astronomical guarantees must be deposited in an Israeli bank (NIS 100,000). For some reason the Palestinians were unable to do so – more of the occupation’s wonderful bureaucracy. It doesn’t matter how much, why, how – the bottom line is that the enlightened country doesn’t want a wide, standard, two-lane road here, lest an increase of “normal” traffic will “endanger” Israeli rule. It all seems and sounds hallucinatory. What a shame.
08:30 Shavei Shomron
We see almost no vehicles. The checkpoints are in place, ready for a decision to use them again.
08:45 'Anabta
People cross freely, without restrictions.
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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Eliyahu CP (109) / Crossing
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Eliyahu CP (109) / Crossing This checkpoint, also known as the Fruit Crossing, is one of the main checkpoints between Israel and the West Bank. It is located on Route 55 between Alfei Menashe and the turn to Qalqilya and Zufin, more than 4 km east of the Green Line, in the separation fence, which separates Qalqilya from its lands to the south, thus leaving Alfei Menashe West of the fence - the Seam Zone. This checkpoint, a few kilometers across the Green Line, is intended for "Israeli settlement in the West Bank and the population of the Seam Zone." It is managed by a civil company. Palestinians with a special permit for their lands in the seam area are also allowed to pass through it, on foot, and sometimes by car.
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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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