Eyal Crossing, Mon 10.8.09, Morning
04:32 – Tens of labourers are waiting at the parking lot for transportation. A group of women are sitting separately, complaining about the x-raying and the material which is put on the Identity Cards. There is a constant stream of people passing.
04:36 – There are 11 people passing per minute. Some of the come out with their shoelaces untied and their belts in their hands.
04:39 – 17 people passing per minutes.
04:40 – An organized prayer at the parking lot.
04:46 – 13 people passing per minute
04:49 – 25 people passing per minute. Complaints about the crowded x-raying rooms, we are being photographed from the roof. At the closed area to the right of the exit, a group oftrademen are waiting for the opening.
A conversation with Omri – seemingly the CP manager (polite and cooperative).
The x-ray machine is already active since 5 years at different places, and it still hasn't been established that it causes damages.
There is no possibility that a person who was x-rayed also passed by the spoon (the material that is spread on the documents, probably to identify traces of explosive material). This examination by spoon is also performed on luggage at the airport. Nothing special.
He describes to us a procedure of cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Labour at Kalkilya and the DCO: They distribute numbers for the queue for exiting Israel, at the entrance, before the sleeves there is a responsible person who arranges the entrance according to the numbers, which, so it seems, regulates the pressure. The queue of the women is created by itself and is honoured by the men (according toOmri). In fact three checks are performed – an x-raying, palm of the hand and magnetic card+ID cards.
At the tradesmen's yard there is an elderly lady whose palm of the hand check wasn't regular, and she must renew it (once a year) , but the DCO opens only at 08:30.
05:40 – a continuous flow of people passing
05:47 – The sun is coming up, tens of labourers are waiting at the parking lot.
05:52 – Omri announces to us that there are no more people outside, the Palestinians claims that there are many.
06:03 – there are 12 people passing per minute
06:20 – there are 20 people passing per minute
06:30 – we leave
Since I was last time at the CP about a month ago ( a few days after the privatization) there aren't many complaints about abnormal passage time, and they have already become used to the food regulations.
Eyal Checkpoint / Crossing
See all reports for this place-
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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