Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)

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Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)

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Edith M, Annelien K (reporting)

Sep-21-2014

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Morning

We arrive at 3.55 and as a small part of the metal fence is partly removed we can see some of the progress of the building of the new entrance. A group of concrete bases on which the pillars will be erected.
As the roof above the path that was leading towards the entrance is removed and there is no defined line, no one is able “to jump the queue” and there is no shouting or pushing.
At 4.00 the turnstiles open punctual on time. Every time groups of about 80 people can pass before the turnstiles close. There is no running towards the magnometer. Women stand at the side and a senior worker arranges for them to pass first.
4.15 we go to the exit side. The person we choose to check how much time it takes to pass the terminal exits after 7 min. A second one 13 min. As far as we can see it looks as if most of the checking-booths are open. The atmosphere is relaxed.
We take some pictures of the business-centre that is being build adjacent to the terminal.
5.00 Before we decide to go home we return to the entrance. From far we hear noise and see that an immense crowd is pushing towards the magnometer.
Edith climbs on the large electrical box to see if there is a similar crowd waiting outside, but it appears it is much quieter outside the turnstiles. Why close such a big crowd in such a small fenced –in area ?? This repeats itself with women shrieking and terrible pushing, so bad we see the magnometer shaking on its foundations. At that moment an army jeep arrives and a kippa-wearing-officer, with an even
more orthodox looking soldier, tells us aggressively we are not allowed to be there. After consulting on his phone he demands to see our identity cards and even my camera info-icon to remove the pictures I have taken. I refuse and neither do I want to go into the dicussions Edith has with the soldier who lets loose a torrent of abuse about “all those organizations – he mentions a few - that love the Palestinians more than the Jews”.
5.30 We return once more to the exit where more and more workers gather in the area around the terminal, some catching up on lost sleep. We leave at 5.45

Location Description

Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)

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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.