Habla, Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Wed 11.1.12, Afternoon
13:00 Habla
The weather was rainy when we arrived before 13:00 and there were already many more Palestinians waiting than usual for this time. Several said that they had been waiting a couple of hours, probably got off work early because of the weather. One young fellow told me that he lives only on the other side of the gate, pointing to his house, a few minute walk and he had to wait 2 hours.
The army jeep finally arrives at 13:15, by this time there were even more people, I must say that they were in good spirits and a very cheerful attitude. There were several donkeys and carts transporting mattresses, blankets to beautiful flowers. The soldiers worked quickly and within 40 minutes most of the people had passed to either side of the gate.
There was a flow of vehicles on the road considering the weather, but not many military vehicles.
15:35 Irtah
As we approached the entrance to the terminal we saw the people entering through the terminal, I was surprised because the gate on the side is usually open in the afternoons so the people can walk directly out without being checked. After several minutes a guard comes out of the facility and opens the outer gate so everyone can walk directly to the other side. I inquired why it was closed before, he said because they have to check “a certain population”. This was unclear to me, but the guard assured me that they know who this population is.
Habla
See all reports for this place-
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
-
Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)
See all reports for this place-
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.
-