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‘Anin, Reihan, Thu 3.12.09, Afternoon

Observers: Chana H. and Rutie T.
Dec-03-2009
| Afternoon
14:30 Aaneen checkpoint
On our way to Rihan checkpoint with Alli and his mother – we stop and see what is happening at the Aaneen checkpoint.
Only a few people are already waiting for the opening of the gates, which according to them, would be in an hour, at 15:30.
Someone tells us that in the morning only 12 workers and two tractors went through. Those are the only ones who hold agriculture permits after November 30th. All the rest have no means of livelihood. There are no social services assistance in the village for  needy people, "they" take it all…. can one try his luck in Ramallah? yes, but there is not enough work for everybody and also, it is very costly to live there. and where would food come from ? from Allah.

14:50 Rihan-Barta'a checkpoint
There is one car at the upper car park area. At 14:55 citrus pickers loaded with sacks of fruit arrive from Kfar Yona. Another group arrives from Herzliya, where they too they pick citrus. Work is from 8:00 until 14:00. The worker get paid by the container. For a full grapefruit container they're paid 13 NIS. They pick up to two containers an hour, so by our calculation a day's pay is about 156 NIS, but in reality ("there are breaks," they explain) they make 104 NIS per day, 2000 per month.

At 15:05 a large group of seamstress arrives, greeting us.

Except for workers returning home the checkpoint is quite vacant. Only a few go out in the opposite direction. We do not observe any crowding at the entrance to the terminal at this time of day.


15:45 Aaneen checkpoint

Gates are already closed; it appears that they were opened at 15:00 and closed at 15:30, according to an old procedure.
  • '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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