'Anabta, Deir Sharaf, Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim), Tue 24.11.09, Afternoon
15:00 - 15:20 - Both at the Barrels and Anabta checkpoints the cars pass without inspection.
Irtah
When we arrive at 15:30, two posts are open and the traffic of entering cars flows. However, at 15:45, shortly before pressure time, one post closes and a line starts building-up getting longer and longer, because many people arrive at this hour. We turn to the guard at the gate and he explains that right now many people are passing on their way to enter Israel and the man operating the post is busy with them. He promises that as soon as they have passed, he will be back and the work at the post will resume.
When we get back to the gate, we don't see any people leaving for Israel and some 15 minutes later four people leave. At 16:20 the line is so long it has reached the parking lot. We call the Humanitarian Center and they promise to take care of it. A few minutes later another post opens, which is not enough and the jam is terrific. We get back to the entrance, where a vehicle carrying workers has just arrived. We require that additional posts be opened because the jam is huge. They promise to do it and at 16:30 another post opens and the traffic starts flowing.
A lot of people complain about the long lines in the morning. There were people who couldn't make it to get to work this morning and had to go back home. People also complain about the rudeness and the degrading attitude of the workers at the passage.