Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
Translation: Bracha Ben-Avraham
14:30 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint
There were road repairs being done and lights were being repaired along the road. Two women were sitting under the shelter on a bench without any seat waiting for a ride that arrived immediately. A tractor loaded with various goods crossed to the West bank. There was very little traffic in both directions as usual. A young Palestinian was cleaning up the checkpoint. It appears that his job is to clean up the area between the two fences, but outside it is not important. Two military policemen approached us who did not know that it is permitted to take pictures and thought that we had to keep far away from the gate. They are new here. We asked if school children crossed today. They did not know, and were unaware and did not care that schools in the West Bank were on strike today.
15:00 – Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint, Palestinian Side
Anna noticed that the sign for supervision of flora and fauna near the truck crossing lists the goods that are forbidden to bring across only in Hebrew. The general description is written only in English and Arabic.
The parking lot was full and unusually disorderly. Two Palestinian attendants were standing at the entrance and did not prevent people from parking on the sides of the road. Many people were coming back from work at this hour. The two containers that were placed in the parking lot until permanent structures are built are full of activity. One has been converted into a prayer corner, and the other which has had one of the walls removed has been converted into two snack bars and a fish market (see photo). A blue plastic sheet has been erected between the two sheds. People complained that the rain comes through holes in the plastic. They also complained that the checkpoint managers make it difficult for the owners of the booths on the Palestinian side, but allow the kiosk located in the sleeve on the seamline zone side belonging to the settler to continue to operate. No one mentioned Trumps speech yesterday about the United States recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and we did not ask people about it. One person spoke about the shooting at an Israeli bus near Emricha.
He explained that on the other side of the fence near Emricha (see report from November 22nd) there is concertina barbed wire stretching from Emricha all the way to the Mevo Dotan Checkpoint that has been there for a year. We drove to see this fence that we had never noticed, and only saw some small sections of wire. The fence had rusted and was the same color as the ground. Soldiers were standing near the fence. Perhaps they were stationed there because of the shooting yesterday.
15:40 – Mevo Dotan Checkpoint
Cars were driving in both directions without being checked, but they were being held up by the concrete blocks that left only one lane of traffic open.
16:00 – We joined the drivers who were returning home after driving people from the checkpoint.
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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