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‘Anin, Reihan, Mon 15.9.08, Afternoon

Place: 'Anin checkpoint (214) Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint
Tags: Passage Restrictions Slow passage
Observers: Ricki Y. and Rutie T.
Sep-15-2008
| Afternoon
14:50 Aaneen checkpoint
The gate opens at exactly 15:00.
About 30 people aare waiting to cross, some of them riding 7 tractors loaded with junk, mostly plastic items. Pedestrians' passage is conducted lazily.
Matching the names of returning  people with those who have left in the morning is extremely slow.
A tractor towing a small wagon with two goats on it goes through swiftly.

At 15:15 another tractor loaded with yellow plastic containers crosses the gate, following inspection of the papers it is sent outside the gate. The driver says that this has never happened to him before.
A very young soldier apparently identifies with his role, thus yelling at the people crowding at the gate with short, sharp syllables, using a tone of voice used at times with mentally impaired people : Move on, move on, he orders children to get off the tractor, :"One by one, you understand"?
One of the soldiers tells us that passage of junk is not allowed at this checkpoint. "This is an agriculture crossing". We're trying to advocate for people who try to make a living after they were denied their right to cross daily to cultivate their land for their livelihood.

At 15:40 we begin negotiating with the DCO.

At 16:30  One of the tractors which were detained for an hour behind the gate (it carried mostly sawdust bags) unloads its cargo down the olive grove. The  driver goes back to the gate, his papers are once more inspected, and then he drives through quickly.

Unfortunately  we find out later that  the sawdust is meant for chickens'  coops and for padding the soil; clearly an agriculture purposes.
We explain that to the soldier, who proudly admits that it was his own initiative not to allow passage of the cargo.
We wait with the other 4 tractors loaded wth junk.

At 16:35  the long awaited permit finally arrives and the tractors go through with their cargo. We are told via the telephone that the permit is valid for one day only and it is unclear whether it'll be valid in the future.
The gate which is due to close at 15:30 is locked at 16:40, and a burdensome silence is in place.
We couldn't but wonder what would have happened if we were not there? and what would happen on Thursday afternoon?

16:55 – Rihan-Barta'a checkpoint
The upper car park area is vacant of people and vehicles. Two vans and a private car arrive. coming out of the vehicles are workers rushing home to break the Ramadan fast. On the other side of the turnstile there are six people. Whoever arrives, goes through swiftly.
At the lower car park area we see many vans still waiting for passengers.
The vehicles' inspection post on the other side of the road is vacant.
17:20 – We leave.

  • '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.

  • 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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