Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim)
Irtach Checkpoint at Dawn
04.07 When we arrived at the checkpoint, there were already a few people outside, meaning that it took between 5 and 7 minutes to pass through the checkpoint.
At the entry gate (the rear one) it was quiet, packed with workers, and the turnstiles open for a long time. Later, they started to regulate the flow by closing the outer turnstile from time to time. At the side where the womens’ turnstile is situated, the gate was closed and a long line of men were waiting to climb through the slit. See the video clip . At another place two youths had climbed onto the roof and were busy opening another gap (higher up) that would allow an additional “leakage” inward.
At the exit side , people were calmer relative to a Sunday. However, the main complaint today was precisely about the openings which the Palestinians themselves make in the fence and the ceiling netting in order to create an additional entry. This endangers the people standing below, because , due to the crowding, the only place that the climbers can jump down to is onto their heads. The broken fence is therefore a source of injury to those passing near it.
Today we were told that the problem is only outside (the checkpoint), and that inside, everything is alright. Several laborers who live near Jenin, about an hour’s drive from the checkpoint, and who work in the Hadera area, told us that their journey is lengthened (including a hefty payment for a taxi) compared to their going through Barta’ah, which is the natural crossing for those living in the North. They define the passage through the checkpoint as an obstacle and daily hardship “which is tougher than a day’s work”
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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