A telephone report - agricultural checkpoints: Far'un, Olive CP (623), Zeta
Telephone report – agricultural checkpoints
During the week I reported and tried to deal with several problems:
a. On Sunday, 15/10, a farmer from Deir Al-Ghusun that, on Friday or Shabbat morning, Eyal Salmon, the DCO official in Tulkarm, arrived the morning shift at the checkpoint and confiscated 25 agricultural permits. In answer to one of the other farmers’ question about this, Eyal responded that it is none of his business, but later he remarked that the permits had been confiscated because the farmers went to work within Israel.
The same farmer said that the proof which had been provided by the DCO and the army was that there were traces of cement on their clothing, which was certainly appropriate for any kind of work. It seems as though they expect that the Palestinians would be able to purchase shirts appropriate for any occasion – whether it be farm work, building work and even weddings…
b. Yesterday, S. called me from Phar’un and said that the local council had written on Facebook that checkpoint 704 at Phar’un would not open and the farmers should go to the Irtah/Ephraim checkpoint, or tractor owners to checkpoint 407, Jubara/Teenim. I was able to find out yesterday, 17/10, that there was no such notice. So, this morning, the farmers decided to go to the Phar’un checkpoint, but they found it closed.
They checked again at the DCO and reported that, for reasons they were not able to share with me, it would be closed for several days and then, it seems, would open again. Reminder: they have been trying for a long time to close the Phar’un checkpoint and perhaps they are making another attempt at that.
c. At 8:50, a farmer called me from the Zeita checkpoint to tell me the checkpoint had not opened. He claimed that they had been there since 8:00. The liaison officer told me that the checkpoint should be open from 8:30 – 9:00, but the soldiers were late. The checkpoint in fact opened at 9:00.
Someday, one of us should write a book about the occupation clock and its marvelous flexibility!
Far'un CP
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Far'un CP
A checkpoint near the Palestinian town Far'un, which is located near the Green Line, about 4 kilometers south of Tulkarm . About 5,000 residents (2018) 2,000 people moved abroad and their homes were left empty.
When the separation barrier was built in the early 2000's, about 4,000 dunams owned by the village were separated from the local farmers. In 2009, following a petition by the residents, the Israeli High Court ordered a change in the route of the fence. In May 2011 work began, and in 2013 it was completed. Following the movement of the fence, 1,400 dunams are located within the village area and for the 2,600 dunams remained in the Seam Zone behind the Separation barrier. The can arrive to these only through Far'un agricultural checkpoint 708.
MachsomWatch have been in touch with the village farmer since the early 2000s - visiting and documenting the checkpoint and the township . Over the years, the opening frequency of the checkpoint has changed from time to time: sometimes 3 times a week, sometimes twice a week, and sometimes it closed completely for a certain period without explanation. In addition - the checkpoint is opened usually only twice a day and this makes it difficult to cultivate, because the farmers are not able to stay in the fields all day. Throughout the years there were many delays in opening times the checkpoint and the farmers sometimes have to wait hours until they can go to work their plots.
The most difficult problem is the limited number of permits approved by the Civil Administration for the transition to tillage. Many landowners have problems with lands that are not registered in their name but in the name of a deceased father. Registering is very expensive if the father had several sons and daughters to whom the land belonged after his death. They have no money to transfer their father's land in their name. Before the walls, block settings and gates that do not open, they divided the plot they inherited and had no problems processing. Today everything is complicated. Plots that have not been cultivated for several years may become state lands and pass to the settlers, residents of the seam area.
Mar-21-2022Anin Checkpoint: A magnificent breach in the center of the checkpoint
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Ras Abu Sbitan (Olive Terminal)
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A large checkpoint/crossing to the area of a-Tur, Abu Dis and the Old City; only for pedestrians. Located on Jerusalem’s municipal boundary.
One of the major crossings in Jerusalem’s central sector. It is located on the separation fence between the northern portion of the al-Ezariya neighborhood and the neighborhood of a-Tur and the rest of East Jerusalem. It is manned by Border Police soldiers and private security companies and operates 24 hours a day. Palestinians are forbidden to go through, other than permanent residents of East Jerusalem (holders of blue ID cards) and holders of work and commercial permits who are allowed through only on foot.
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Zeta South (564)
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Zeta South (564) Agricultural checkpoint. Allows passage to farmers whose lands have been imprisoned beyond the Separation Barrier. The crossing is allowed for special permit holders, for three days a week: noon and afternoon for 15 minutes at a time. The Palestinians who need to pass are complaining about the short times and the few days they can work on their land.
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