Barta’a-Reihan, Fri 14.6.13, Morning
Reihan CP – 06:40
I came to see for myself what goes on here on Fridays, after we received many complaints.
I went down to the (Palestinian) parking lot; the sleeve and the CP are locked and only vehicles of the colonists go through the vehicle CP. Today there are no pickup trucks with goods. Near the entry gate to the terminal in the Palestinian parking lot, about 150 people crowd together. Most of the women sit at the side on the sidewalk. They complain about the fact that there are no separate gates and no separate queues for men and women, as there once were.
At 06:55 they announce the CP opening. The women stand up, organize a queue parallel to that of the men, and all of them prepare to burst into the CP. Inside the CP we can see a security guard, and he allows 10 women and 10 men to enter alternately.
07:20 All of them are already inside. As they enter the terminal some of the people (at random?) are sent to go through the X-ray machine, a process that takes 30-40 minutes, and some go through without having to undergo this examination. This arrangement sometimes separates workers who share a ride to work and causes people to be late to work. They told me that they get to the CP early (between 05:00 and 06:00) that those who are early spend a little less time in the terminal.
I spoke with Erez, who is in charge of security and he tells us again that the arrangement to open at 07:00 was coordinated with the Barta'a Local Council. Later I met a member of the Barta'a Local Council and he explained to me that this arrangement was decided on because not all the sewing workshops work on Fridays. (Is this religious intervention?)
08:00 A slow stream of workers go through in the direction of the seamline zone.
Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint
See all reports for this place-
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).
-
