Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Sun 30.8.09, Morning
We arrived at 04:00
The queue was very long, so long that its end couldn't be seen
We estimated that this morning about 4500 workers passed
04:35 The turnstiles were opened
Most workers pass without food parcels, so the passage, when the turnstiles are open, is quicker, there are no alarms set off by tins of tuna fish and the passage is relatively quick
05:08 The turnstiles are closed, about 1000 workers still stand outside
05:13 The turnstiles are opened
05:27 The projectors have been extinguished. Again the workers are left silent in the dark
05:27 The turnstiles are closed
In the background there is a summons on the loudspeaker for an arab worker to return to the turnstiles, the summons is in his proper name
05:42 The turnstiles are still closed
Ziona calls the DCO at Tul Karem, the young man Nadav sounds very sleepy she explains the situation to him
In the end he disconnects the line
05:55 The turnstiles are opened
06:00 Pressure, crowding and blows in the queue and people quarrel about the queue
The workers ask that a cover be made for the winter
Is there anybody who could really tell us what will happen in Irtah in the winter?
06:14 The turnstiles are again closed
06:18 They open the turnstiles and about 30 people enter
The workers complain that they are being detained and will be late for work
07:00 We left
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.
-