Irtah, Ar-Ras and Anabta – Wednesday AM, 31 May 2006 Watchers: Nati, Rina S, Inbal R. (reporting)Summary:Irtah: There were many complaints about the checkpoint’s opening hours. The organization for legal advice with regard to prisoners’ visits was present there. Tulkarm: The closure on the city which lasted 2 months had been removed. The residents of Jenin, who were imprisoned and cut off even before the disengagement, are now able to go through to Tulkarm, Qalqiliya and Nablus. We can only hope that it’s a change in policy and not a temporary situation that spreads confusion and the inability to understand the instructions that change from day to day.6:50 IrtahAccording to the day laborers, the passage was opened in an hour late (at 06:00 instead of 05:00). Due to this delay, some of the laborers didn’t manage to get on time to the parking lot where the Israeli contractors wait early in the morning. The ones who were late couldn’t find a contractor to hire them, and lost a working day. And this after spending money on a taxi, waiting for over an hour in the checkpoint until getting to security check that lasts another half an hour.There is a group of these day laborers standing idle in the parking lot. They have nothing to do there, but it’s very complicated to go back home. The gate back to the Palestinian Authority is locked. It won’t be opened until they are done passing the families going to visit inmates in Israeli prisons [Ed. note: with organized, escorted transportation, a regular arrangement here] . That will happen approximately at 10 AM, and then they will have to take taxi again.We have heard several complaints about the occurrences in the checkpoint in the evenings. Irtah is supposed to be open until 19:00, that being the maximal time that the workers are allowed to stay in Israel. When they come back their work permits are signed in order to make sure that the worker won’t stay overnight in Israel. However, the gate isn’t open all the time. The guards arrive every now and then, approximately every hour, let in those who are waiting, and close it again.The workers, who come back from a working day, see a closed gate, and theydon’t know that the gate will be opened later on. Usually they give up and go in through Jubara, without having their work permit signed. Then, on their next appearance at Irtah, they will discover that a worker whose work permit with an exit stamp but doesn’t have an entry stamp can lose his work permit. Some of the workers claim that the checkpoint is being closed at 18:00, and it’s impossible to get there by 18:00 after the end of a working day. Apparently the closing hours change from day to day, that makes the situation even more complicated. According to the workers there are a lot of deficiencies in Irtah. MachsomWatch note:The opening and closing hours must be clarified as well as the regulations.Another complaint that we received: there is no water in the lavatories. Unfortunately, the passage’s supervisor, who was from the Ministry of Defense, had been replaced, and we can no longer clarify complaints and problems. Elisheva is trying to find out who is the new person in charge. A 62 year old man told us about his troubles. His son is being held in administrate detention; sitting in jail for 18 months already without any trial. During this time the father was allowed to visit him only twice, his mother didn’t get permission to see him at all. Rina made an inquiry for him and found an organization that gives legal representation to prisoners’ families. Their number: [given]. 7:20 Ar-RasLately, the checkpoint at the agricultural gate in Jubara was cancelled; so all the traffic is transferred from the Ar-Ras checkpoint. The Ar-Ras checkpoint commander isn’t willing to answer any questions about passage permits, but it seems that the exit from Tulkarm is unrestricted, by car and by foot. Nonetheless there is not much traffic in the checkpoint. Posted to a concrete block at the front of the military position here, is a photocopy of an old letter [Ed. note: elsewhere noted as dated October 2004] written by an investigation officer in the Shomron [Samaria] police precinct. In this letter, the officer orders the soldiers not to speak with MachsomWatch women, and allows any soldier whom we approach, to “arrest the suspects” [sic, referring to us] on charges of interfering with a soldier on duty. As known, the chief of general staff allowed us to ask the checkpoints commanders’ concrete questions. Hence, in our opinion, that is a bogus letter, in which a citizen “orders” soldiers to act against the chief’s of general staff instructions. The letter was posted by “Women in Blue and White” from Haifa [Ed. note: a grassroots nationalist organization that opposes MachsomWatch and pays visits to soldiers at the checkpoints], who also posted a pamphlet about their organization; we found both of these at the Anabta checkpoint as well. Since when can civilians that belong to a political group hang propaganda which includes instructions to soldiers in a military facility? A soldier who saw us reading the letter tore it down, but it’s possible that the contents of the letter affected the checkpoint commander’s unwillingness to answer our questions. 7:50 AnabtaVehicles and pedestrians can go through, in either direction, after a check. The traffic level is moderate. There is pretty long line of cars, each car’s waiting time is estimated at 20-40 minutes. The checking of vehicles is very slow, and that’s because the driver has to stop at a distance of 10 meters from the soldier, approach the soldier, go back and bring the other passengers’ identity cards, and after the check the driver can return again to his car.