Tulkarm area, Eyal Passage, Irtah Passage, Jubara upper gate, Ar-Ras, Anabta, Wednesday, January 24, 2007, a.m.Observers: Naty, Inbal R. (reporting)Translation: Galia S.OverallVery difficult conditions at Eyal Passage. Improved flow of traffic at the Tulkarm area.Eyal Passage06:55 – The passage serves workers with permits to work in Israel, merchandise transport and families of prisoners. This report is based on stories we have heard from some fifteen workers and contractors we had talked to at the Eyal parking lot.The workers wait three hours for the inspection at the terminal. Many get there as early as 03:30 in the morning. The terminal opens at 04:00, but well before the opening, there is already a long line of nervous people. This morning some workers have been slightly hurt being crushed against the fence as a result of pushing.Some of the workers sleep in front of the terminal gate. It usually involves those who came from the area of Nablus, who having to wait for the checkpoints on their way to open, may be late in leaving Eyal. The Israeli contractors will find other workers and they will lose a workday.One of the workers who lives in the Jordan Valley has told us that he gets up at 02:30 at night and passes four checkpoints (Juftlik, Hamra, Ein Bidan, Huwwara) before he finally gets to the line at Eyal.To our question how many workers pass at Eyal every day, we get different answers – between 2500 and 5000 or even 7000. In any case, it is a very busy passage, even more than Irtah.What causes the delay in the inspections? Again here we have heard different opinions. Some put the blame on frequent replacement of the soldiers that carry out the inspections who sometimes examine a standard form for fifteen minutes. This claim sounds plausible. The Irtah passage is run by a private company that has permanent workers who have acquired skill in inspections, whereas the Eyal Passage is run by the army that send soldiers in rotation. One can only guess the mood of the soldiers, woken up in the middle of the night, who have no experience in a quick examination of documents of thousands of people and perhaps not too much motivation either. It is possible that at 04:00 in the morning, there are soldiers who stare at the papers.Another reason for the delay is the repeated failures of the new biometric equipment (which records physiological parameters). The equipment reads the back of the hand and not the palm. That of workers is usually wounded.The equipment has been operated experimentally both at Eyal and at Irtah.To judge from unofficial talks with the person in charge of the checks, it is not considered a success story.The last reason for the delay we saw with our own eyes as we were standing at the terminal gate: Only three out of eight inspection posts were manned. An additional remark concerning the biometric equipment: In case of disparity between his print on the computer and the one on the screen of the equipment at the terminal, the worker is sent to the DCO [District Coordination Office of the IDF Civil Administration that handles passage permits].After the DCO confirms his identity, the worker has to pay IS 130.00 for correcting the print on the computer. In our opinion the state of Israel has the right to add another method of checking to the inspections and operate an experimental system. However, it is unreasonable to force the poor Palestinian workers to pay the price of the experiment. This distortion is only due to the fact that the workers have no choice and no power to confront the system.Irtah Passage07:30 – We arrived late. Few workers were waiting at the lot. It seems that this morning the passage functioned well without special incidents. We talked on the phone with the man in charge of the facility on behalf of the Ministry of Defence in order to find out what was going on at the merchandise passage. According to written reports and also to what a Nablus reporter told us, the merchandise passage (back-to-back) [transfer of merchandise between vehicles that can’t cross the checkpoint] at Awarta had closed and all the transportation of goods in the area had been turned to Irtah. We asked Ministry of Defence representative how the Irtah passage was dealing with the additional load of work and why the trucks weren’t sent also to Eyal Passage. The answer was surprising: Until noon today, no truck that had been unloaded before at Awarta arrived at Irtah.The solution of the mystery is probably linked with a report of “Betselem” [The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories] on which Hagar L. relied when she distributed in the net that Israeli drivers refuse to bring merchandise to Irtah because the customs officers and the Ministry of Health representatives that are there check the food.If it is some kind of strike, when and how should the food reach Nablus?Jubara, Upper Gate (what used to be the Agricultural Gate)07:50 – The passage is open 24 hours a day and serves only those who have special authorization to enter Jubara.