Eyal Crossing, ‘Anabta, Eliyahu Crossing, Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Qalqiliya, Thu 2.7.09, Afternoon
15.30 Jubara,. The Te'enim Passage. A police car stands next to the police station. About 5 cars are on their way to Israel. IDs are checked. There is no delay.
15.45 Anabta. There are two army posts in each of which are two soldiers. At the back of one cars pass by and arrived from Tulkarm without stopping. The soldiers at the front post (southern) send the cars through to Tulkarm and stop only the Israeli cars with yellow license plates. They want to check that these are Israeli Palestinians. Jews may not pass. Now and again they ask where the passengers are going to. They say that they are already on duty for 20 hours but are sure that this will come right shortly. Cars wait in both directions.
16.15 Irtah At the trade terminal 10s of giant trucks unload their cargo which are taken to trucks on the Palestinian side. There are not many people leaving the terminal and they hurry through the two turnstiles to the passage which is shaded with plastic covers and this becomes a small market place at this time and for the many cars which wait in the parking load on the side of the dividing fence. A man tries to enter Israel to a ceremony of his boss in Netanya and has been waiting half and hour. Then it is decided to stop the traffic for some minutes and to let him through.
The parking lot is empty. Now and again a car arrives and workers alight and rush to the turnstile. Only one checking area is open. It takes about a minute before one sees them coming out.
16.40 There are cars with workers who rush to the gate. Even when there is a line of about 80 it shortens fairly quickly, Now and again the turnstile locks and opens again when the inside hall empties out. From the time that the workers arrive at the line at the locked turnstile until the time he comes out about five minute pass. The workers say they are still not allowed to bring through big bottles of water.
17.00 The man who wanted to enter Israel is not longer there. It seems he must have passed when we went round the building. Another man now stands there hoping to pass.
17.15 The gate to the area which reaches the dividing fence is closed but not locked. A new rail accompanies the pavement leading to the entrance to the building. When we get there we see a long line of people along the wall in the direction of the entrance. By they time we got out of the car there was no one there. In the parking lot are few cars. Now and again 10s of workers get out of cars which arrive and go through the building and come out within a few minutes. We try to enquire as to whether they feel there is a change now that the passage has become a civilian one. They say it is very hard in the morning. Others say it is OK. No one speaks of the problem with the water but all those that we asked say that they are not allowed to take out water in the morning not even small bottles. There were no lines and the workers continued to stream out.
We asked one of those responsible, Y. who had evidently ended his shift and asked why they could not take water through. He said that there is no limitation but a worker who passed said that it was forbidden to take water through. Y. said there was no limitation. We tried to pass this news on to all who passed.
18.00 We went through the Zofim road, past the obstacles which divided the Zofim gate. The soldiers lifted the checkpoint to each Israeli car. We did not see Palestinians maybe because they do not pass thee.
At Qalqiliya there were no lines and cars passed in both directions without stopping.
At the Eilyahu crossing were two lines of about 10 cars at the exit in the direction of Israel and little traffic in the other direction.
'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.
Oct-28-2011Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11
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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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Eyal Checkpoint / Crossing
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Eyal Checkpoint is intended for pedestrians and Palestinians only. This is the main barrier for workers to cross from the center of the West Bank. Workers with a work permit to enter Israel can pass through it for trade, medicine, and visiting prisoners. The checkpoint was built on the Green Line north of Qalqilya in the separation barrier that surrounds the city. The checkpoint began operating in 2004 by the military. Opening hours on weekdays from 04:00 to 19:00. We started holding shifts there in 2007. We arrived at the checkpoint before it opened at 4 in the morning. We reported on the difficult conditions and the long and cramped queues of workers who must continue their journey by commuting to work throughout Israel. At the end of June 2009, the checkpoint was operated by a civil security company, The transit time has been gradually shortened, today it is faster, but the Palestinians still have to arrive very early to make it to the transportation. Usually, about 15,000 people pass through.
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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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Qalqiliya checkpoint
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Qalqilya is surrounded on all sides by the separation barrier. The only exit from the city is in the east of the city on the road that leaves the city in an easterly direction. This is where the checkpoint was located. When the checkpoint was active until 2009 our shifts watched long queues of cars being inspected at the only exit from the city to the West Bank. The checkpoint was canceled, but there is a military presence at the entrance to the city.
Nina SebaAug-18-2025Azzun: Enclosed by a high fence and the gate to the village is closed
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