Barta'a-Reihan, Hermesh, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
Hermesh Checkpoint
We began at Hermesh Checkpoint, which marks the border between Area C, where we usually travel, and Area A, which is forbidden to us. Battalion Netzah Yehudah manages the checkpoint. Soldiers come down from the guard tower to chase us away from the area, which has now been decreed “military.” The checkpoint itself is open and the traffic is thin. A large pile of lightposts lies next to the checkpoint. Interesting: For what purpose are these lightposts intended?
Ya’bed-Dotan Checkpoint
Traffic is running without delay. An armored army vehicle is stationed beyond the checkpoint but, for now, there are no inspections. In the adjoining fields there are sheep and tobacco and okra are growing,
Barta’a Checkpointpost
On the Palestinian side of the checkpoint, two brothers, about 10-11 years old, are selling coffee, and a younger, smiling brother joins them. It is very hot and the charismatic Hani looks like he is about to faint. We gave him water and he smiled again. Afterward, we gave the three of them bottles of cold water and they were very happy. They continued to run among the cars without any supervision.
Indeed, the parking lot was filled with cars, almost like in the “good days,” before they stopped issuing permits to cross over into Israel for work, but it is quiet here; the atmosphere is gloomy. Perhaps the approaching Ramadan contributes to it.
Tura Checkpoint
We skipped Tura Checkpoint in order see for ourselves that nothing was happening at the Fabric of Life Checkpoint, and afterward we went to say “Have a good Ramadan” to a lovely couple in Hirbat el Ra’adiya, where they still do not have electricity. Unlike all of their neighbors, they don’t have the required amount of money necessary to purchase a solar panel. But, el-Hamdulala (thank God), their children are doing fine and can support them. Their garden is beautiful.
Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint
See all reports for this place-
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).
-
Hermesh
See all reports for this place-
Hermesh
-
Tura-Shaked
See all reports for this place-
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
-
Ya'bed-Dotan
See all reports for this place-
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)
-