Barta'a-Reihan, Hermesh, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
15:20 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint
The lovely spring vegetation succeeded in covering part of the ugliness of this checkpoint. A man and woman were waiting under the awning. A young woman with a girl and boy crossed with bags full of home-baked pita bread, crossed to the seamline zone and waited for their father, who followed in their car. Two women crossed to the West Bank.
We drove past Barta’a Checkpoint on our way to Yaabed – Dotan checkpoint. After a kilometer we came to the iron bridge that was locked at both sides by the occupation, which prevents traffic to Zibda and Kaffin. The bridge has been locked for several years, forcing drivers to take a longer route. There is another gate behind the Palestinian village of Emricha that is also locked, preventing traffic to the town of Yaabed.
15:50 – Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint
The Netzach Yehuda Battalion is still stationed here and there is a sign pointing to an in-service training area. Traffic was flowing freely in both directions.
16:10 – Hermesh Checkpoint
As usual the gate was open as it has been for several years and traffic was moving freely. A lot of cars were driving towards Tulkarem. A sign in Hebrew points towards Afula and Mevo Dotan, but ignores the existence of other large Palestinian communities in the area such as Jenin and Yaabed, as if they don’t exist.
On the way back to Barta’a Checkpoint we saw a mother partridge crossing the road followed by her chicks, and a driver who was not paying attention ran over the mother. What will become of her chicks?
16:30 – Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint, Palestinian Side
We had not seen the parking lot this full for a long time. The two auxiliary parking lots along the road beneath Zibda were also full Two trucks were waiting in the area in front of the inspection facility and a lot of people were returning from work at this time of day. We also had not seen so many people for a long time. The two very young coffee vendors saw us among the cars and came over, and we bought coffee from them. A man spread a small prayer rug among the cars and prayed, and another prayed in back of the crossing facility.
16:45 – We made our way back to our car and drove after a long line of cars that had brought workers to the checkpoint and were returning to Israel.
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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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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