Jubara & Irtah (“Ephraim Gate”), Tuesday, February 7, 2006, AMObservers: Shlomit S, Maya M, Elinoar B (reporting)06:15-08:00 Surprisingly, the entrance to village is unguarded. The commander says that the soldiers “should be here any minute.” The driver of one of the school buses complains: he had to argue with the soldiers manning the Tulkarm side to let him pass to go through the village. Years, and the soldiers are still don’t get reliable information. We go up to Gate 753 (“Schoolchildren’s Gate”), the soldiers speak jokingly to the few Palestinians passing the gate, “How is your wife? Your children?” It is certainly better than the screams we are going to hear later on near one of the roadblocks, but it does ring false and patronizing. The reason for the soldier’s elevated mood becomes clear when a few minutes later they end their shift. In Irtah the parking lot is chock-full of cars and workers, and many laborers are still coming out at 07:00. The last ones exit at about 07:30. The checkpoint opened at 05:00, they complain, but thing moved very slowly and the checking-out stopped every few minutes. Near the one-directional turnstiles we meet a man who forgot his coat inside. No way can he go back. We try our best to help him, call the civilian security people, at last we are informed that the coat “had been taken out to him.” It is gone; the man has waited almost an hour in vain.