Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)
We decided to arrive at 4:30, because we have noticed that with the new arrangements traffic flows smoothly at the start, but there have been complaints about problems around 5:30.
4:30 We arrive. Everything is calm, people enter the checkpoint facility freely and with no pressure.
5:00 Increasing pressure. People hurry and shout. Men fill the women's line. The lines are allowed to move by turns, one at a time.
5:02 All the lines are halted for two minutes. We hear shouting from inside the building. Two men return to Palestinian territory.
5:15 On the Israeli side: People leaving the building report that today is bad. Two people we chose to watch for pass through, one in 7 minutes, the other in 13 minutes.
There are still no toilets near the building's exit.
5:45 We leave. It appears that the crowding and pressure have moved from the first hour to later, so there may be not much point to arriving at 3:45.