Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)
The routine at work
The gates opened at 3:58, and the first people got through the checkpoint in just three minutes.
4:07 – A woman got through in four minutes, one man we were watching for took five minutes and another eleven.
4:30 – One man took nine minutes, another thirteen.
5:02 – Only seven minutes.
By the separation barrier we met a group of EAPPI volunteers from assorted countries, who were interested in talking with us.
Personal impressions: After about a year that I didn’t go to the checkpoint, I noticed a number of״ improvements״. 1. The fence along the border has extra barbed wire making it higher.2. The electronic sign that flashed alternately English, Hebrew and Arabic has been replaced by a permanent sign in Hebrew only announcing that this is ‘Shaar Efraim Terminal.’ 3. Throughout the area efforts are visible to improve security and beauty.
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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