Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
14:10 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint
We were received by a donkey and its rider and a car going to the seamline zone. The woman driver greeted us. Other than that there was no traffic at the checkpoint, but the lights along the road were lit in spite of the bright sunlight, perhaps driving away the darkness of the checkpoint. We drove past the Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint with its crowded parking lot and continued on to the Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint. There were two pillboxes between the checkpoint and the village of Emricha. Both were surrounded by concrete blocks and the military unit flags were flying overhead. There were also memorial candles and an Israeli flag over the second one where the terrorist attack occurred a week ago. There was a broken fender lying on the side of the road and e soldiers stood outside and in vehicles along the road.
14:40 – Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint
Tami described the checkpoint surroundings, what goes on there, and the feelings that it arouses. There was a cognitive dissonance: the surrounding Dotan Valley is a pastoral panorama of green plowed fields, tobacco fields and well-tended olive groves. Against this springtime scene is a situation in which people are filled with fear and suspicion. The Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint has been decorated with an Israeli flag and a colorful military unit flag. An armored vehicle was standing nearby and armed soldiers wearing helmets and bulletproof vests were standing opposite a convoy of Palestinian cars returning to Area A. A car on the side of the road had undergone an accident, reminiscent of the recent terrorist attack in which an officer and soldier were killed. The drivers greeted us in support of our presence. One greeted us in excellent English and told us to take care of ourselves. A captain and two sergeants approached us and were also concerned about our safety. Finally, everyone dispersed, the vehicles continued on their way, and the soldiers disappeared into the olive grove and only the flapping flags remained. For 15 minutes the scene was reminiscent of the sad reality of the occupation.
15:15 – Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint, Palestinian Side
Many people were returning from work at this hour and vehicles are waiting for them. There are many parked cars. Four young women with children dressed in holiday clothes were waiting. They live in Jenin and were invited to a wedding in Barta’a. A man came and brought them permits and they went through the first turnstile leading into the terminal. Beyond the turnstile we could see the new sheds, under construction. One man complained that people could be injured by the makeshift fence surrounding the construction area. Another person complained about delays at the Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint. Someone had suddenly been banned by the Special Security Services. We gave him the phone number of Sylvia’s team.
The food kiosks under the shed have been taken down. The checkpoint management threatened the “merchants” that they would have their merchandise confiscated and would have to pay fines, and the only thing left to buy on the roadside is strawberries.
15:14 – Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint, Seamline Zone Side
A lot of workers were coming down the sleeve on their way home, and families dressed in holiday clothes were walking up in the other direction, together with several women students. Two inspection windows were open, which was enough at this time of day. It took the women and children whom we met in the parking lot more than 20 minutes to get through the checkpoint.
16:00: We drove home. The festive women and children got into a large taxi and left for Barta’a.
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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