Palestinians, in particular, experience long waiting periods to obtain permission to cross.

Although the crossing was designed to deal with the passage of 20,000 persons a day, drivers of public transportation vehicles who work there indicate that not more than 20 to 30 persons cross a day, most of whom are foreign passport holders.

Palestinian and Israeli security officials coordinated their presence at this crossing prior to Hamas' takeover of Palestinian Authority security installations in June 2009. Now Hamas officials maintain a security presence a distance from the crossing area.