Barta'a-Reihan, East Bartaa Junction, Hermesh, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
At 06:00, we passed by the junction to Eastern Barta’a. As we have reported in the past, as well as this morning, many workers arrive from the direction of the separation fence.
Barta’a Checkpoint
The traffic in the sleeve, the enclosed passage to the entrance to the terminal, was quite sparse. We parked in the improvised lot south of the checkpoint, to view the crossing through the breaches in the fence. The traffic swarms there. Most of the traffic arrives here from the direction of Kafin village, on a steep road in bad condition. Others come in vehicles and go down on foot. Someone tells us that he will now walk about three kilometers to the fence, but lucky he got a ride in a taxi.
06:35- Ya’bed-Dotan Checkpoint
The checkpoint is open. There is just one narrow lane with cement blocks, which force the drivers to slow down and travel in a zig-zag fashion between them. A large, long truck maneuvers slowly between the cement blocks and causes a traffic jam. On the side of the checkpoint, there is a dirt road that could ease the traffic if it weren’t blocked.
Harmish Checkpoint
It is also wide-open. Workers sit near the settlement’s gate and wait for their employers.
07:05 – Barta’a Checkpoint
We took personal pictures near the dump. The security guards arrived and took us to a picnic table past the gate. The assistant manager, R., came to speak with us. Marina and he began to talk about growing mango and lichee trees, until he left. A functionary politely reminded us that it is forbidden to photograph here. We recalled a document that allows us to photograph, and we will try to bring it with us in the future. One of the security guards asked if one of us was Hannah H. He reads her reports. We mentioned other names that they recognized.
The parking lot on the Palestinian side. Few are wearing protective masks. Marina askes one of the drivers why he thinks they cross at the breaches in the fence, and he answers, “it’s an illusionary fence.”
At 07:45, at the exit, our car was inspected.
07:50 – Tura-Shaked Checkpoint
The gate and the sleeve are locked to pedestrians. According to the soldiers, there is no electricity right now. They open the gate from inside for the driver who has arrives in a security vehicle from the settlement of Hananit. In the meantime, we spoke with a student studying for a Master’s Degree in accounting at the American University in Jenin, and with A., from Arara (in Israel), who has been married to a Palestinian from Tura (in the West Bank), for 25 years. She is trying to receive Israeli citizenship.
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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East Barta'a Junction
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East Barta'a Junction
The main station at the eastern Barta'a junction (Roads 611/6115).
A junction without special activities became about April 2020 a bustling center of transportation to workplaces in Israel, following the free passage through loopholes in the nearby separation fence.
Palestinian workers from all over the West Bank gather here every morning, without transit permits and often without masks. The army is turning a blind eye and the occupation is losing control.
There is also no shortage of coffee and pastry stalls.
Hagar DrorSep-26-2023Barta'a: rapid construction of the separation fence
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Hermesh
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Hermesh
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Tura-Shaked
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Tura-Shaked
This is a fabric of life* checkpoint through which pedestrians, cabs and private cars (since 2008) pass to and from the West Bank and the Seam-line Zone to and from the industrical zone near the settler-colony Shaked, schools and kindergartens, and Jenin university campuses. The checkpoint is located between Tura village inside the West Bank and the village of Dahar Al Malah inside the enclave of the Seam-line Zone. It is opened twice a day, between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., and from 12 noon to 7 p.m. People crossing it (at times even kindergarten children) are inspected in a bungalow with a magnometer. Names of those allowed to cross it appear in a list held by the soldiers. Usually traffic here is scant.
- fabric of life roads and checkpoints, as defined by the Terminals Authority in the Ministry of Defense (fabric of life is a laundered name that does not actually describe any kind of humanitarian purpose) are intended for Palestinians only. These roads and checkpoints have been built on lands appropriated from their Palestinian owners, including tunnels, bypass roads, and tracks passing under bridges. Thus traffic can flow between the West Bank and its separated parts that are not in any kind of territorial contiguity with it. Mostly there are no permanent checkpoint on these roads but rather ‘flying’ checkpoints, check-posts or surprise barriers. At Toura, a small (less than one dunam) and sleepy checkpoint has been established, which has filled up with the years with nearly .every means of supervision and surveillance that the Israeli military occupation has produced. (February 2020)
Mar-21-2022Anin Checkpoint: A magnificent breach in the center of the checkpoint
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Ya'bed-Dotan
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Ya’bed-Dotan
This checkpoint is located on road 585, at the crossroads of Mevo Dotan settler-colony / Jenin/ Ya’abad. It has an army watchtower (‘pillbox’ post) and concrete blocs that slow down vehicular traffic. It was erected when Barta’a Checkpoint, lying to the west on the Separation Fence, was privatized and its operation was passed over to civilian security personnel. Since December 2009 this checkpoint enables flow of Palestinian vehicular traffic towards the Barta’a Checkpoint. Seldom is it manned by soldiers sitting in the watchtower, who conduct random inspections of vehicles and passengers. (february 2020)
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