Eliyahu Crossing, Habla, Jayyus, Kufr Jammal, Mon 23.4.12, Morning
05:45 Eliyahu crossing
About 40 Palestinians wait to cross; more people join the line. We didn’t remain because we hurried to reach the Jayyus gate which is open from 05:30 to 06:30.
06:00 Southern Jayyus agricultural gate
The two ecumenical volunteers we’d arranged to meet have been there from the time the gate opened. They report that not many people have been crossing recently, nor were there many people this morning. Unfortunately, we neglected to ask them the reason – fewer permits, or less seasonal work? It’s worth finding out.
They report that conditions at the Eyal crossingare still very difficult on Sundays. They didn’t understand the significance of what they’d been told about the entry permits granted for specific times (for 05:00 and 07:00). I explained to them what we’d been told at the DCO about permits for workers employed on a permanent basis who are allowed to enter starting at 05:00, and “merchant” permits granted for a later hour. And also regarding workers whose permits allow them to remain overnight, which is why the crossing is more congested on Sundays.
They told us that the army has been coming into Jayyus and'Azzunon many nights, and that at least 30 youths from 'Azzun were arrested in February and not yet released.
Few people go through the gate; they’re inspected quickly. The gate closes at 06:30; the soldiers continue to the northern Jayyus agricultural gatewhich is opened three times a day for 15 minutes, for one family living beyond the fence.
We return through the Eliyahu crossing to the Habla gate.
06:58 Eliyahu crossing. Many laborers still wait to cross; many cars (about 10) at the vehicle inspection station. We drive through with Machsom Watch flags flying.
07:00 We meet laborers who’ve already been inspected; the second group exits as we approach. Crossing is very fast, without any delays. People wait at the revolving gate to the facility, which speeds up the crossing. The pedestrian gate is locked; a nice reservist has the job of opening and closing the vehicle gate for pedestrians. He’s willing to accept our suggestion about making the process more efficient, but the officer, an MP who’s apparently his commander, refuses and rejects it, nor is he willing to talk to us.
07:40 After the two buses arrive, as well as the elderly watchman from the plant nurseries who is also required by the MP commander to go through inspection, we leave and return to the Eliyahu crossing where about 30 laborers still waiting to cross.
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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Jayyus North (935)
See all reports for this placeKufr Jammal
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Kufr Jammal This village, rising about 200 meters over sea level, is located about 14 kilometers south of Tul Karm town and about 17 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea. The families living there since the mid-18th century number about 3,000 persons at present. The village has lost thousands of dunams of its northern and western lands due to the construction of the Separation Barrier, leaving the lands themselves behind the barrier. After the Israeli Supreme Court ruling in 2011, the barrier was moved to the west and many farmlands were returned to their owners. It is a quiet village, its relations with the nearby settler-colony of Sal’it are favorable, and many of the villagers work in the colony’s industrial plants. Farmers cross the agricultural checkpoint close to this settler-colony in order to tend their fields unhampered. However, there are numerous acts of harassment and disorder taking place when the village farmers cross the other agricultural checkpoints: gates do not open at hours suitable to the farmers’ needs, and for a short period of time only; the Civil Administration usually prevents all kinds of crops except olives; tractors and other farm equipment are forbidden entry; only a single permit is issued per family, and occasionally such permits are confiscated and their re-issue is delayed – the common excuse is usually “security reasons”. How do the villagers make their living? Holders of work permits inside Israel travel at 3 a.m. to Eyal Checkpoint near Qalqiliya town in order to make it on time to their workplace at Sal’it (close to their village) and elsewhere. Owners of vegetable patches who hold permits are allowed to reach their fields beyond the Separation Barrier through the distant Falamiya Checkpoint. Importantly, fields returned to the village show amazing improvement intending, irrigation and farming variety – and instead of the neglected olive tree groves that were accessible only to holders of transit permits through agricultural checkpoints usually closed, farming has now flourished. (updated Jan 2021)
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