Irtah, Jubara, Sunday, 24.7.05, AMObservers: Naomi K., Orna P (reporting)07:00. Irtah – closed. 07:15-08:30. Jubara. A long queue of laborers Jubara bound. A long line of vehicles from Tulkarm. We were told that there was no entry into Israel because of the closure except for humanitarian cases (a couple with a child, the woman with a breast tumor, crossed over for treatment at Tel Hashomer Hospital). Passage is also limited only to residents of Jubara and is not possible for landowners living outside the village. The Palestinians are angry and frustrated – they are being sent back and forth from gate to gate. They are directed to Irtah though it is closed, sent to locked gates, etc. It seems the soldiers are bewildered because of the contrasting instructions that arrive from time to time. We phoned the brigade and the battalion commanders and the DCO. The DCO representative arrived fairly quickly and worked efficiently to solve the problems and find solutions. His communication with the workers was kind and pleasant and he was attentive to their hardships. Within a few minutes, the deputy platoon commander arrived and after him the deputy battalion commander who said that the Irtach passage-way would open at 07:30 for back to back transferring of merchandise. He also gave instructions whereby those holding agricultural permits could go through and most of the people waiting crossed over to their lands. Some were sent to the agricultural gates with a promise that they would be open when they got to them. So that you know, the agricultural gate open at fixed hours for a limited period of time (about half an hour in the morning, at mid day and in the evening. Between those times no one comes or goes). According to the deputy battalion commander, most of those waiting meant to go through Jubara to work in Israel as illegals. People exiting Tulkarm were forced to get out of their cars and go through inspection contrary to the norm at Bet Ibba. There the soldiers perform the inspection on the buses. The deputy battalion commander claimed that inspection was carried out outside the vehicles for the safety of the soldiers. The traffic jam at the exit from Tulkarm began to dissolve. The deputy battalion commander explained that the orders had been changed, therefore the misunderstandings. Today only people in vehicles can go through. On the one hand there is no more need for switching taxis, but on the other, one cannot pass if not inside a vehicle, except for agricultural permit holders headed for the fields of Jubara and Jubara residents. The taxi station at the exit towards Anabta no longer exists. Amidst the whole commotion, an Arab-Israeli woman arrives with her four children intending to visit a relative in Tulkarm. She is not allowed to pass without a permit. Finally she goes to Tulkarm for the necessary permit and three of her children wait by the checkpoint. D., and Military Policewomen volunteers to “baby-sit” the small children and sits with them. It seems that our intervention and the regular “work relationships” we have established with the commanders dwindled the long lines that were there when we arrivedIn the near future there will be a heavy load of people passing at Jubara and probably a lot of problems as a result. We warmly recommend sending out two different groups to Jubara and to Bet Iba. The end