Barta'a - no solution to the overcrowding problem at the moment
5:30 Barta’a-Reihan checkpoint
Our old acquaintance S.A. calls. He just went out to the shuttle plaza. We meet on the road. He speaks about the difficulties of entering the checkpoint in the last few mornings. He is 61 years old, and works in a very dangerous place, according to him. It is a factory for assembling or finishing buses and he has to wear a mask all day because of the toxic substances. He earns minimum wage. We’ve seen him more upbeat on other days, but “Alhamdulillah, the main thing is to work”.
The shuttle plaza is completely full and also the sides of the road. We continued south and parked in the Palestinian parking lot. It is now 6:05 and many are still waiting to enter the checkpoint facilities. In the first facility, similar to a covered pen with a “barrel” roof (like the pavilions in the British Mandate camps) – the passages are very narrow and crowded. We are told that last week an ambulance had to be called to rescue three people who felt sick in the terrible crowding. All report that the transition from start to finish takes at least an hour.
In the parking lot someone calls our name: Hadi! We knew him as a boy. Today he is a father of three and earns a living from transportation in his private car. Still smiling despite his thick beard. He asked about Anna… We handed out some Sylvia notes and moved on.
6:35 Ya’bed-Dotan checkpoint
Hadi was right. The checkpoint appears to be unmanned. He said earlier that the soldiers are actually there in the afternoon when the workers are returning to their homes (in the Jenin district). 5 armored jeeps arrive from the direction of Area A and turn left towards their base near the Mevo-Dotan settlement. Later another jeep arrived and a “Kfir” soldier warned us not to stand in this place that is exposed to terrorist attacks. When we introduced ourselves, one of the soldiers answered with a mocking smile: “You are really doing holy work and I’m with “Im Tirtzu”.
7:15 We passed the Barta’a checkpoint again
Most of the workers had been picked up by then.
7:20 Tura-Shaked checkpoint
It was quiet as usual. Several cars and pedestrians passed on both sides of the barrier. And should you wonder whether anyone has accidentally bothered to clean the filth around – then absolutely not.
S. called later, and said that he spoke with someone at the offices of “Ma’avar Reihan” (Barta’a checkpoint) who told him that there is no solution to the overcrowding problem at the moment.
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).
-
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)
-