ברטעה-ריחן, עאנין
Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint, 05:50
A long, orderly line of Palestinian workers stretches from the road to the turnstile. The volunteer attendant, A., directs the workers and insists on an orderly approach to the turnstile. The vehicle parking lot is also more orderly and accessible. It is possible that we are feeling the influence of the attendants who worked here a week ago? In the meantime, they obviously stopped working because of a dispute between the Barta’a Council and the Jenin Governorate. Someone in the parking lot tries to sell coffee in paper cups from inside his car. The administrator of the checkpoint doesn’t agree to this. There is already a coffee and pastry kiosk inside the sleeve leading to the terminal. The kiosk belongs to a settler.
Cups of coffee being distributed in the parking lot. (See photo.)
The pace of entry is reasonable. We observed between 40-50 people and more who enter with each opening of the turnstile. The turnstile stopped turning each time for two minutes.
An elderly Palestinian complains to us that despite the fact that his son had a permit to pass through, they delayed him more than the usual amount of time. Another Palestinian turned the prayer beads in his hand, whose colors were those of the Palestinian flag.
6:30 – Five windows are working inside the terminal. The duration of passage, measured from the waiting in line until the exit, is about 20 minutes.
Agricultural Checkpoint Anin 214 – 06:50
An army vehicle waits inside the checkpoint between two closed gates. With a delay of half an hour and only after the arrival of an additional vehicle, the checkpoint gate was opened.
“Do you remember me Sivan . . .” one of the soldiers sings a popular song. Another ordinary day of his army service.
Fifty-eight male farmer and one female farmer leave for work from the village of Anin in the West Bank to the Seamline Zone. Apart from the morning greetings in Arabic and Hebrew, we received an explanation of the banality of the occupation; that there are barbed wire fences, gates and delays: “The soldiers are totally OK today … sweet soldiers . . .nice soldiers.” One young man exposed a bare shoulder under his sweater. He was wearing a shirt without sleeves. He was proud that they didn’t send him back home today with the claim that he was not dressed in clothes for agricultural work as it is written in his permit.
Three tractors pass. One was sent back. The reason: It was manufactured before 1995! A new rule of the checkpoint.
At 16:00 M. telephones Neta. The checkpoint that is supposed to be opened at 15:00 is still closed. Neta tries to call the District Coordination Office four times between 16:00 and 17:30. Among the answers she received were “We will clarify,” “The patrol is on the way,” “just a few more minutes.” At 17:45 M. notifies that he passed through. A delay of almost 3 hours!
07:30 – A minibus picks up five female students and one male student in uniform, for one more day of school in Umm Reihan, children of a Bedouin family who lives on the edge of the checkpoint.
Tura-Shaked Checkpoint – 07:45
Quiet. A few cars and a small number of people passing.
We left.
'Anin checkpoint (214)
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'Anin checkpoint (214)
'Anin checkpoint is located on the Separation Fence east of the Israeli community Mei Ami and close to the village of Anin in the West Bank. It is opened twice a week, morning and afternoon, on days with shorter light time, for Anin farmers whose olive groves have been separated from the village by the fence it became difficult to cultivate their land. Transit permits are only issued to those who can produce ownership documents for their caged-in land, and sometimes only to the head of the family or his widow, eldest son, and children. Sometimes the inheritors lose their right to tend to the family’s land. The permits are eked out and are re-issued only with difficulty. 55-year-old persons may cross the checkpoint (into Israel) without special permits. During the olive harvest season (about one month around October) the checkpoint is open daily and more transit permits are issued. Names of persons eligible to cross are held in the soldiers’ computers. In July 2007, a sweeping instruction was issued, stating that whoever does not return to the village through this checkpoint in the afternoon will be stripped of his transit permit when he shows up there next time. Since 2019, the checkpoint has not been allways locked with the seam-line zone gate (1 of 3 gates), and the fence around it has been broken in several sites.
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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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