Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim)
We hadn't observed the opening of the checkpoint for months. Since the addition of the new building, and moving the opening up to 3:45, it seemed that there was no pressure that early. This time we decided to see if it was still so. We arrived in the parking lot at 3:40.
Since we arrived before anyone came through, we peeked around the toilets. There's no faucet for washing hands. Even the drinking fountain nearby seems not to be working.
3:45 The gates are still closed. They open at 3:50. In the meantime we notice two men patrolling the area between the "slalom", the roofed area where people wait, and the separation fence. They don't speak Hebrew or English, but we get the impression that that they are there to maintain order, as we saw at Eyal CP when we observed there. This is something new at Irtach. Maybe it's a local organization?
The first people into the checkpoint get out in only four minutes. They run. We ask what the hurry is, and someone answers, the first minibus to Tel Aviv. In fact, they leave immediately, and don't hang around waiting as so many do.
4:00 By the fence, the gates are open, people pass through into the checkpoint freely, as soon as they walk in. We pick two to watch for; one gets through in ten minutes, the other takes fifteen.
4:20 Pressure is beginning, and also pulsing, opening and closing the turnstiles according to the number of people in the checkpoint. The gates open, inside of a minute and a half at least two hundred people enter, then they gates close again.
Four people head the other way, back into Palestinian territory. We ask why, and one answers his fingerprints didn't pass. We ask about his permit–he says the permit is fine, but the fingerprints aren't. (We have no idea what happens to people like this. What can he do to establish his identity?)
When the gates open again, we choose another two people to watch for. They each get through in twelve minutes.
A man complained to us about pressure at the checkpoint in the afternoon, on the way home. We asked others, who said it's nothing. The procedures haven't changed, people going into Palestinian territory aren't checked, there may be momentary pressure if several buses arrive at the same time.
4:45 We leave.
Last week I (Varda) phoned the checkpoint manager. We discussed several topics. One – the workers who use the checkpoint have complained about insufficient toilet facilities. The manager said he has requested more, and been turned down. He will ask again.
Second topic: Is the new trade center building in use? He answered that it officially opened, but doesn't get much use. There isn't much cooperation between merchants on the two sides. (Is it a white elephant?)
Third topic: The previous time we visited Irtach, a guard asked us to identify ourselves. We refused, saying he wasn't a policeman and had no right to question us. The manager said his guards do have the right as long as we're in the checkpoint area. Does anyone know what the law says about it?
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.
-