Tarqumiya, Wed 26.12.07, Morning
0510 – workers moving quite fast through the checkpoint. There are 4 stations operating + an additional soldier (who is in charge of the area) who also checks around the CP.
3 border policemen are standing guard.
There is a long line of cars waiting to be checked, mainly pickups and cars carrying workers.
The CP is calm; it takes 20-30 mins to pass through. We’re told that the CP opens at 4 a.m. and some 3,000 workers pass through daily. When we were there 4 workers had been detained, 3 of whom were released after a few minutes. One worker was told he could not pass through. He asked that his pass be returned, but the soldier wouldn’t give it back. The worker left without arguing.
When we left the CP at 6 a.m. there was still a long line of workers waiting to pass through.
Tarqumiya CP
See all reports for this place-
The Tarqumiya Checkpoint is one of the largest and busiest checkpoints where people and goods cross into Israel. It is located on the Separation Barrier close to the Green Line, on Road 35 (connecting Beer Sheva and Hebron). It is run by the Israel Defense Ministry’s Crossings Administration with civilian secuirty companies running the day to day operations. The checkpoint is indeed open to vehicles in both directions 24/7, but Palestinians are prevented from crossing in vehicles, except in special cases. MachsomWatch activists visit the checkpoint as it opens at 3:45 am, in order to observe the daily passage of nearly 10,000 Palestinian workers. The workers arrive from throughout the Southern West Bank. Our activists report on the tremendous overcrowding at this checkpoint; they have observed young men climbing and scrambling on the fences and roofs of the ‘access cages’. This is how the work day begins for those who ‘build the land of Israel’. updated November 2019
-