Eyal Crossing, Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Tue 31.1.12, Morning
People are working.
Irtach –
03:45-04:45
At 03:40 we arrived at the Irtach checkpoint. On the way we saw cars entering the area of the Eyal checkpoint.
On the “Palestinian” side of the checkpoint, beyond the fences, under the canopy built a few months ago, there are now food and coffee stands. From a distance we can see plastic sheeting hung to protect customers from the wind and rain coming from the side.
The checkpoint opens at 04:05. About 40 people went through the revolving gate each time it opened. The first wave consisted mainly of men, the second mainly women, most young. Later we saw older women entering a few at a time.
Around 04:30 the electric revolving gate at the exit from the inspection building stopped operating, and the doors also closed for about five minutes. People said someone didn’t go where he was told inside the building. All in all, people go through pretty quickly.
Skilled workers earn significantly more than agricultural laborers, NIS 300-350/day. Transportation costs NIS 36 round-trip, and they pay the labor contractor NIS 1000/month. People at Eyal also confirmed that amount.
Eyal 05:00-05:40
When we arrived the large parking lot was already jammed with vehicles picking up workers. People came out through the revolving gates fairly quickly. The canopy above the exit lane from the inspections has been extended an additional 20 meters. It seems to us that more people are crossing through Irtach, and somewhat fewer through Eyal. At 05:10 about 400 people arranged themselves in long lines between the parked cars to pray, and many of those coming out of the inspections joined them at various stages. But many people didn’t join them and continued what they were doing – smoking, eating, drinking coffee.
A person who approached us exemplified again what’s written in the booklet about people blacklisted from entering Israel – more than 30 years old, with children, no history of involvement in resistance, forbidden from entering Israel without understanding why.
Agricultural laborers receive NIS 150/day. They also pay NIS 1000/month to the labor contractor. They told us that some of the contractors under-report the number of workdays to the Employment Service and pocket the difference. The person we were speaking with referred to a labor contractor from Haifa with an office in Netanya who has 400 people employed through him!! We asked what happens if someone is injured on the job. They said that usually an ambulance is called, and medical expenses are covered, but they also knew of cases where people who were hurt were expelled to the West Bank without having been treated.
As you remember, buses transporting relatives of prisoners to visits in Israeli jails go through the Eyal checkpoint accompanied by Red Cross representatives. It seems that’s why the government has invested in cleaning up and decorating portions of the checkpoint that are off limits both to the laborers and to us. There’s a round plaza on which venerable olive trees have been planted (which must have been stolen from someone), along with boulders for decoration. Yesterday all that was illuminated by colored lights – red, green, blue, purple. Thus shall the state do with the checkpoint it wishes to glorify.
We tried to get permission to see the other side – the entrance to the checkpoint – but we couldn’t.
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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