Barta’a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya’bed-Dotan
Tura-Shaked Checkpoint
This checkpoint is the “fabric of life” checkpoint that is open most hours of the day (According to the army’s definition, the checkpoint exists so that Palestinians from both sides of the West Bank can lead their lives with minimal interference caused by the separation fence. At 15:30, the checkpoint is open and there is almost no action. Three children and a dog pass in the direction of a single house. This house belongs to a family from Tura that didn’t agree to move to the village when the checkpoint was set up; they live outside the village and outside the fence that surrounds the village (next to the settlement of Shaked). The children obviously study in Tura and pass through the checkpoint every day.
A resident of Tura arrives on an electric bicycle from work in the industrial area of Shahak, which is between the adjacent settlements. The man is pleased with his economic condition; which, compared to many others, is “OK” (NIS 5,200 a month). He doesn’t barbeque in his yard so that he doesn’t hurt the feelings of neighbors whose economic condition is worse than his. One of his children is recovering at Tel HaShomer Hospital to which he was transferred from the hospital in Jenin. He tells us that someone named Ruti (who stood opposite him but he doesn’t identify her and she doesn’t identify him), referred him to the NGO “Road to Recovery” and they were responsible for transferring the child to Tel HaShomer. The child’s condition continues to improve. The father and mother alternately stay with the child, she during the week and he, on the weekend.
Yabed-Dotan Checkpoint
There are no guards at the locked iron gate, which blocks the lateral road to Yabed. Usually there is an army jeep standing there. But through the trees we saw the barbed wire fence that continues, it appears, to the checkpoint.
In earlier observations, I did not see delays at this checkpoint, even though there were always soldiers in the guard tower. This time, from a distance, we saw a long line of cars crawling slowly towards the checkpoint. We thought that perhaps today, for some reason, there was a more thorough inspection, especially because we saw a number of military vehicles on the roadsides. As we approached the checkpoint, we observed that not only did the cars progress slowly, but they also jerked from side to side. When we tried to pass, it was clear that there were deep cracks in the road that were formed recently. A soldier who came out of the pillbox explained that three days ago (last Friday), someone opened fire on the pillbox from one of the cars, probably to cause injury. The cracks on the road were made deliberately so that drivers would have to slow down to allow the soldiers time to retaliate and respond to attempts to harm them.
there from side to side
Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint
We went down in the direction of the terminal with Palestinians who returned from work and who were on their way home. We observed them on the path that surrounds the terminal and as they go through the turnstile that doesn’t stop turning as people pass through. In contrast to other times, the settler’s kiosk was open also at this hour. People stopped for coffee and cake before returning home. We returned home without drinking coffee there.
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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Tura-Shaked
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Tura-Shaked
This is a fabric of life* checkpoint through which pedestrians, cabs and private cars (since 2008) pass to and from the West Bank and the Seam-line Zone to and from the industrical zone near the settler-colony Shaked, schools and kindergartens, and Jenin university campuses. The checkpoint is located between Tura village inside the West Bank and the village of Dahar Al Malah inside the enclave of the Seam-line Zone. It is opened twice a day, between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., and from 12 noon to 7 p.m. People crossing it (at times even kindergarten children) are inspected in a bungalow with a magnometer. Names of those allowed to cross it appear in a list held by the soldiers. Usually traffic here is scant.
- fabric of life roads and checkpoints, as defined by the Terminals Authority in the Ministry of Defense (fabric of life is a laundered name that does not actually describe any kind of humanitarian purpose) are intended for Palestinians only. These roads and checkpoints have been built on lands appropriated from their Palestinian owners, including tunnels, bypass roads, and tracks passing under bridges. Thus traffic can flow between the West Bank and its separated parts that are not in any kind of territorial contiguity with it. Mostly there are no permanent checkpoint on these roads but rather ‘flying’ checkpoints, check-posts or surprise barriers. At Toura, a small (less than one dunam) and sleepy checkpoint has been established, which has filled up with the years with nearly .every means of supervision and surveillance that the Israeli military occupation has produced. (February 2020)
Mar-21-2022Anin Checkpoint: A magnificent breach in the center of the checkpoint
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Ya'bed-Dotan
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Ya’bed-Dotan
This checkpoint is located on road 585, at the crossroads of Mevo Dotan settler-colony / Jenin/ Ya’abad. It has an army watchtower (‘pillbox’ post) and concrete blocs that slow down vehicular traffic. It was erected when Barta’a Checkpoint, lying to the west on the Separation Fence, was privatized and its operation was passed over to civilian security personnel. Since December 2009 this checkpoint enables flow of Palestinian vehicular traffic towards the Barta’a Checkpoint. Seldom is it manned by soldiers sitting in the watchtower, who conduct random inspections of vehicles and passengers. (february 2020)
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