Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim)
An exceptionally easy day. Meeting with EAPPI volunteers.
We arrived at 3:45 and on our way to the fence we heard the announcement about the gates opening., exactly on time. We waited to see how quickly the first people to come out–it took just three minutes, a new record.
At 3:50 we approached the security barrier and saw that no one was waiting to pass through–everyone walked into the checkpoint as soon as he arrived. We picked two people to watch for, and they got through in 5 and 7 minutes.
We assume that because of Ramadan people came later than usual, wanting to have time to eat just before dawn.
Until almost 5:00 no crowds collected in the lines. People got through in about 7 minutes. Around 5:00 pressure increased, and the turnstiles began opening and closing alternately. Time to get through the checkpoint lengthened to 10-11 minutes. Nina estimated the crowd that entered the building at one time as 150-180 people; this agrees with what we have noted op previous occasions.
During the first hour thousands of people collected on the Israeli side. Some prayed, some lay down to sleep on the road, some sat in conversational groups. Our guest asked the usual question, why they came so early. We explained that they never know how long it will take to get through. Since being late can mean missing the day’s work, it’s better to be early.
Our guest asked about typical days, and we told him. However, since today was such an easy day, he didn’t really experience the matter.
At the fence we met a group of ecumenical volunteers, who had spoken to Edith earlier about coming. They asked about our effectiveness in aiding Palestinians with problems, and Nina explained the types of cases we can sometimes help. We exchanged telephone numbers and agreed to stay in contact. For the last year and a half they haven’t had any volunteers in the area, but they hope to renew their activity.
5:40 We left.
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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