Reihan, Tue 11.12.07, Morning
Reihan CP 06:10
At the exit from the terminal in the direction of the seamline zone: men and women leave after the inspection in the terminal and get into the cars that are waiting for them.A young fellow and two of the seamstresses complain that they are inspected every day, as if nobody knows who they are, as if they have something to hide.
The botanical park at the Reihan CP has two novelties: a well-watered little lawn and a construction that looks like a well – to strengthen the pastoral-village-Palestinian-biblical or what-have-you atmosphere.
In the Palestinian parking lot a group of 25 men are waiting. They are crowded together near the yellow gate that leads to the terminal. Half an hour after we arrived the soldiers began to let them in five at a time. Two such groups waited at the turnstiles. By 07:00 all of them had entered. Inside, according to one of the people going through, there are a lot of people and the women who are doing the inspection are sitting at the computer and playing solitaire.
At the Mavo Dothan CP there are no problems for the time being. There they tried to make a list of all the people who have something to do there and have permits, and they got to a list of 2000 people, so they gave up.
Old Barta'a Agricultural CP 08:05
About 20 people, most of them farmers, went through this morning between 07:30 and 08:00 to the seamline zone (the soldiers said that at the agricultural gate in Kafin, 60 went through). This CP opens three times a day on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
We had a polite conversation with the soldiers, who showed interest in our opinions, but did not agree with them, except for one who agreed entirely with our "no to CPs" logo, because that would make the military service easier.
Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint
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This checkpoint is located on the Separation Fence route, east of the Palestinian town of East Barta’a. The latter is the largest Palestinian community inside the seam-line zone (Barta’a Enclave) in the northern West Bank. Western Barta’a, inside Israel, is adjacent to it. The Checkpoint is open all week from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Since mid-May 2007, the checkpoint has been managed by a civilian security company subordinate to the Ministry of Defense. People permitted to cross through this checkpoint into and from the West Bank are residents of Palestinian communities inside the Barta’a Enclave as well as West Bank Palestinian residents holding transit permit. Jewish settlers from Hermesh and Mevo Dotan cross here without inspection. A large, modern terminal is active here with 8 windows for document inspection and biometric tests (eyes and fingerprints). Usually only one or two of the 8 windows are in operation. Goods, up to medium commercial size, may pass here from the West Bank into the Barta’a Enclave. A permanent registered group of drives who have been approved by the may pass with farm produce. When the administration of the checkpoint was turned over to a civilian security firm, the Ya’abad-Mevo Dotan Junction became a permanent checkpoint. . It is manned by soldiers who sit in the watchtower and come down at random to inspect vehicles and passengers (February 2020).
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