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Irtah (Sha’ar Efrayim), Wed 22.7.09, Morning

Place: Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)
Observers: Ziona O, Belveis S (reporting) Translator: Charles K
Jul-22-2009
| Morning

4:00  We arrived at the checkpoint. 

4:30  The turnstiles open and about 200 male and female workers enter. 

5:00  No line at the turnstiles.  The millennium has arrived.  The guard says “Good morning” to the people entering.  Every two minutes he says, “Please remove cans of tuna and soda and go through with the bags.”  He also asks one of the workers, “What happened to your hand; did you break it?”  “Ah, a crack; be well; have a good day”  It turns out that they can talk politely when they want to.  Suddenly the guard asks, “What happened?  There’s no line today,” and everyone replies in unison, “There’s no work, there’s no work.”  

5:30  Two go back because of the magnetic card and one because of documents. 

6:00  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.  
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