Deir Sharaf, Habla, Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Jubara (Kafriat), Shave Shomron, Sun 5.6.11, Afternoon
Summary
Today is the 44th anniversary of the outbreak of the Six-Day War. The army, we have been told, “braces itself for unrest” and “has geared up in advance of Palestinian plans to demonstrate….” The IDF Central Command was to reinforce its presence in the West Bank, but with less than the five battalions that were added to the Occupier’s forces for Nabka Day eventualities. Of course the right-wing has asked that protection of Jewish settlers be stepped up following so-called ‘intelligence information’ that the Palestinians intend to disturb the peace on a massive scale. Among their demands, MachsomWatchers note well, were that roadblocks that have been removed should be reinstated, and that settlements be provided with crowd dispersal equipment. Last, but not least, special efforts were, evidently, to be made in real time through lookout points and from the air.
And the reality is, or was: all quiet on the eastern front, many vehicles on the roads, mainly Palestinian, in marked contrast to previous Sundays, and many vehicles with Israeli or army license plates, but no more than usual. As for roadblocks, none were visibly reinstated.
13:00 Habla
The gates have just been opened, and there is one jeep, one Hummer, three soldiers — one military policeman and two soldiers on guard. The military policeman is lecturing the soldiers — reservists, two of whom are officers, we presume — on what needs to be done to the very few Palestinians wishing to cross the agricultural gate on one of the first hot and steamy days of summer. Only the Bedouin school buses are missing from the scene: summer vacation has already arrived!
On our side of the gate, a lone pickup truck, no driver present (he’s gone to be checked in the concrete booth on the other side of the Separation Barrier); a small voice calls out to us, “Hello, hello” in what sounds like English. Inside the cab of the pickup truck a lovely young woman with three little toddlers. The father returns, and on being complimented on his lovely family, tells us: “They are Bedouin.”
The hilarity, if such it can be termed of the “security” provided at this agricultural gate is personified by one of the soldiers on guard in the shelter of one of the concrete positions, who goes, with a jerry can of water over to the other, calling to his superiors, “We need to do this every 15 minutes,” meaning one soldier on guard moves from his position on one side of the gate near us to the shelter of the concrete position on the other side of the gate. It goes without saying that the newly installed gate in the fence, the gate designed for pedestrian use, remains padlocked.
13:15 – the military policeman, clearly in charge, questions a tractor driver, peruses his ID and his permit, after which there is a handover of a dog which is brought from the far side of the Separation Barrier and, unwillingly, uploaded on to a tractor.
A few minutes later, only the Occupier occupies the gate: nobody else is around on either side of the Separation Barrier.
Route 55
Near Azzun, the fencing has been completed, Fonduk is quiet, the usual settlers try to hitch a ride outside Qedumim.
Shavei Shomron
The military position, placed on the old road leading up to the settlement, is empty. No checkpoint to report on here.
Deir Sharaf
The minimarket is busy, busy, busy with people coming in for ice cream cones, cold drinks and the makings of lunch.
14:30 Jubara
Behind Abu Khatem’s house, we see a digger at work in the huge white cliff above the unused parking lot. An extension of the Separation Barrier? Yet another fence? Stay tuned.
Irtah (Sha’ar Efraim)
14:40 – the trickle of returning workers becomes bigger as the afternoon wears on. A man gets off an Israeli garbage truck, carrying three huge bundles and somehow manages to transport them, by himself, to the now open metal gate leading to the turnstile outside the checking hall and manages, also, to get both himself and the unwieldy bundles through the narrow turnstile.
14:45 – men carrying huge buckets of a form of white lily are followed by some women bearing the same large sheaves of flowers. As they make their way through towards the turnstile they greet us politely and seem to be almost cheerful. A day like any other? Or, sumud – a declaration of their steadfast perseverance?
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.Ronit Dahan-RamatiApr-25-2025Habla Checkpoint: system of gates
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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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Jubara (Kafriat)
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The Jabra checkpoint was on Road 557, south of Tulkarm, on the side of the Figs Pass, which is located within the Palestinian Authority (a few kilometers east of the Green Line), and serves as an entry barrier from the territories to Israel. The checkpoint to the village of Jubara, which until 2013 was in the seam area, blocked and surrounded by a fence, was intended for the passage of the family members of the house next to the checkpoint, and also for the MachsomWatch volunteers (with special permission only), on their way to checkpoint 753. on the other side of the village. The soldiers supervising the "fig crossing" also supervised the crossing at this checkpoint, in our shifts we often waited a long time until the key was found and the gate opened. The checkpoint was abolished and became part of the separation fence that was moved west following the High Court.
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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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