Barta’a-Reihan
Tura-Shaked 7:25 – 8:10
Until now, only a few people have been passing from the Palestinian village Tura into the seamline zone. A crowd of people is waiting in line to go through the turnstile at the entrance to the checkpoint from the Tura side. A few cars are waiting on the side of the seamline zone. A very angry man comes out from the checkpoint. He turns to us saying that the pace is extremely slow and that people are being shouted at (and yes, we hear a female soldier shouting but we don't get what she says), time is being wasted and people are being abused. The passage is very slow while we are there. Only when we leave, at about 08:15, do we see the last people going through the turnstile. Usually it takes half the time for a similar number of people to pass through.
As usual, the checkpoint is crowded. The crossing seems to be managed effectively. Inside the terminal, two windows are open and there are no lines. We observe that it takes 7 minutes for a man to pass. People coming out also tell us that there are no crowds and that the passage is fast; "Come every day…" . It's nice to hear, but we doubt that we have any influence…
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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