Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Tayasir, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 1.5.11, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
11:15 Shomron gate – Empty
11:30 Za’tara junction checkpoint
Soldiers are stationed on the side of the checkpoint, taking care of cars coming from Huwwara. There’s no line now at the checkpoint.
12:00 Ma’aleh Efraim checkpoint – Empty
12:15 Hamra checkpoint
No line. A car coming from eastern Barta’a (the northern seam zone) on its way to Jericho can’t go through because only residents of the Jordan Valley are permitted to go through the checkpoint with a vehicle. The passengers will have to take a taxi from the checkpoint to Jericho. [Dafna comments: There are no taxis at the checkpoint, so the only possibility is to wait for an empty taxi that passes – not easy.]
A Palestinian who wanted to reach the Jiftlik is stopped because the registration of the car he’s driving is in the name of a Nablus resident. They took his ID and let him go through and come back.
13:30– We went to visit a Bedouin family we’re in contact with. The only one there was a little girl of kindergarten age. The rest of the children are in school in Auja. Since it’s far away, they live there with their grandmother or their mother. They’d rather send the children to school in Tamun, which is nearer, but the road goes through the Gochia checkpoint which is only open three times a week (at best), so Auja was their only choice.
13:45– We visited another family. All the children were home because of the first of May. Later the brother joined us and told us the following shocking story: Rami, the area’s security man, showed usp in his pickup truck, tied the horse’s head to the vehicle and drove back and forth, shattering the horse’s head until it was dead, in front of them. Rami told him he could file a complaint, but he didn’t recommend it. And, in fact, he’s afraid and won’t file a complaint with the police. Nora wrote down the information to give to Yesh Din.
He also told us that the same security man forced one of the brothers to move his tent elsewhere. We’ve already reported in the past that, because of Rami, the Bedouin in the area can’t water their flocks. He’s apparently making their lives miserable, either on his own initiative or under orders from others, and no one does anything to stop him.
14:30 Tayasir checkpoint
Little traffic. The barrier is out of order and the commander is afraid cars will go through without stopping.
15:10 Gochia checkpoint
An army jeep is there.
16:00 Maley Efraim checkpoint
Soldiers on the side of the entrance to the Jordan Valley.
16:15 Za’tara junction
Soldiers are inspecting cars coming from Huwwara.
There’s a police car on site. The policeman stopped two trucks. One driver received a NIS 500 fine because the bundles of garlic he was transporting weren’t properly packed (it appeared they were harassing him). The other driver had his license taken and was ordered to come to the police station in order to get it back. He didn’t understand why.
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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Tayasir CP
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Located on road 5799, It is one of the checkpoints control the passage between the northern West Bank and the Jordan Valley. For a long time, it stood empty and open, with only a sign next to it warning against entering Area A. It was adjacent to an old military camp - now everything is neglected. How much money was invested here, and how much brainwashing was done to the soldiers of Netzah Yehuda and Kfir.
Today, it is very difficult to pass there. Many delays. Often, teachers from Tubas are not allowed to pass into the Valley to villages like Ein al-Bida where the local schools are located, and there are no classes. There are additional days when the checkpoint is closed. In general, there is a wait there of about two to four hours to go towards the Valley and also to return. Many times the Palestinians are forced to use the Hamra checkpoint, which also leads into Tubas and the West Bank, but there is also a huge queue there and a long wait.
Following a deadly attack on soldiers at the nearby base in February 2025, the checkpoint was completely closed for the time being. (Updated March 2025)
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Za'tara (Tapuah)
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Za'tara (Tapuah) Za'tara is an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, at the intersection of Road 60 and Road 505 (Trans-Samaria), east of the Tapuah settlement. This checkpoint is the "border" marked by the IDF between the north and south of the West Bank, in accordance with the policy of separation between the two parts of the West Bank that has been in place since December 2005. At the Za'tara checkpoint, there are separate routes for Israelis and Palestinians. In the route for Israelis, there are no inspections and the route for Palestinians inspects. The queue lengthens and shortens suits. The checkpoint is open 24 hours a day. The checkpoint is partially staffed and the people who pass through it are checked at random.
Shoshi AnbarSep-27-2023Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
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