A-Ras (The Children Checkpoint)
On Tulkarm-Qalqiliya road (574), east of Hirbet Jubara. tia checkpoint is dedicated to residents traveling to and from Tulkarm, so they should not cross apartheid road 557 (only permissible for settlers).

The Shu’afat checkpoint is located in the northern part of East Jerusalem at the exit from the village of Anata and the Shu’afat refugee camp, which are located in the area annexed to Jerusalem in 1967. The refugee camp borders the Shu’afat neighborhood to the west, Pisgat Ze’ev to the north, the French Hill neighborhood to the south and the planned expansion of Ma’aleh Adumim to E-1 in the east.  It was established in 1966 for 1948 refugees from the West Bank and was populated after the Six Day War by persons who had been expelled from the Jewish Quarter.  Today its population comprises some 25,000 people holding blue ID cards and some 15,000 people with Palestinian ID cards.  The camp lacks adequate infrastructure and services, and suffers from poverty, neglect and overcrowding.  All its buildings are connected to the public electricity and water infrastructure, but not all are connected to the sewer system.  The camp’s services are provided by UNRWA, except for those such as health clinics and transportation of pupils to schools in Jerusalem.  In 2005, the Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a suit by the residents requesting that the route of the separation fence be drawn such that the camp would remain on the Israeli side, but conditioned its approval of the route on the establishment of a convenient and rapid crossing facility for the inhabitants of the neighborhood, most of whom are residents of Jerusalem.

A temporary checkpoint operated there until December, 2011.  It was extremely congested during rush hours, and dangerous for pedestrians (especially children) because of inadequate safety provisions.  The new checkpoint was  inaugurated south of the old one, for public and private transportation and for pedestrians, intended solely for the residents of the camp – holders of blue ID cards, and those with Palestinian ID cards who possess appropriate permits.  There are five vehicle inspection stations at the checkpoint, and two for pedestrians (one of which is currently closed) where scanners have been installed but are not yet operating.  According to the army, representatives of government agencies will also be present to provide services to residents of the neighbourhood.  The pedestrian lanes are very long, located far from the small parking lots, and accessible through only a single revolving gate.

 

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.