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Eyal Crossing, Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Qalqiliya, Thu 27.8.09, Afternoon

Tags: Crowding
Observers: Etika D.B and Didika Y (reporting)
Aug-27-2009
| Afternoon


Irtah 

We arrived at the checkpoint at 16:40. 

The back side and the parking lot were quiet and there was only a trickle of cars dropping off passengers.

 At the front there was a huge crowd of between 200 and 300 people and the entrance was closed. We were told it has not opened for a while and a few minutes earlier two buses of families visiting prisons have arrived which increased the number of people waiting to cross. Inside, only three checking units were operating, one for workers and two for the families.  

When we approached the carousel, the entrance was resumed for about two minutes in which about 50 people managed to go through. The entrance continued on and off every two minutes, allowing between 50 to 70 people each time. 

After about 15 minutes everyone who was waiting has been through and afterwards there were few people arriving and entering without disruptions. There was another long pause later, we thought this was because a shift was changing. 

Some people complained that although their permits allow them to stay within the Green Line until midnight, the checkpoint closes at 18:30. 

Eyal 

We arrived at the checkpoint at 17:35. 

It was quiet and there were very few people going through. 

Qalqiliya (Tzofim) 

We arrived at the checkpoint at 17:50. 

There were hardly any cars going through and we could not see the soldiers.

  • 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.
  • 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.  
  • 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.
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