Irtah, Sun 15.3.09, Morning
Translation: Galia S.
Irtah checkpoint
10:30 – There are almost no people here. Infrastructure works are carried out at the site of the garden adjacent to the road out of the checkpoint (terminal) toward the parking lot. All the flowers have been uprooted and instead of them, concrete circles have sprung up as a preparation for something which is not quite clear.
On the other side of the structure we meet two people who have already been to the DCO [District Coordination Office of the IDF Civil Administration that handles passage permits] and came back disappointed because, again, they didn't get the permit they keep asking for. There is a magnetic card but no permit.
11:00 – There is a huge traffic jam that starts at the turn from road 60 toward Deir Sharaf. The road is practically blocked. A quick inquiry discovers that soldiers are working on setting up a new checkpoint that will replace that of Beit Iba. Most of the drivers are standing outside their cars. They are confused, too, and they are trying to maneuver out of the mess. We are advised to pass quickly because in a little while it'll be closed.
As a matter of fact, close to the new location there are many heavy vehicles with all that is needed for setting up a checkpoint within an hour. On both sides of the road there are two pillboxes, barrier rocks, a yellow metal arm, a Hummer, soldiers and the Israeli flag. The set is almost complete.
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.
-