Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked
The North, 13.05.2019 (Afternoon)
Within the framework of the program called “On the Way to Recovery,” the transportation of Palestinians who are ill to and from the West Bank to the hospitals in Israel, I took our young friend Ali and his mother from Rambam Hospital to the Reihan Checkpoint. Those of us from the North know Ali from his childhood. He is fighting his illness with courage and determination. His devoted mother is no less a hero than Ali.
13:15 – Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint, the Palestinian Side
Ali and his mother were given special permission to cross at the Palestinian side through the vehicle checkpoint, the pathway reserved for Israelis, because many times his health condition was so poor that he couldn’t stand on his feet in line like others. Therefore, we don’t enter the large parking lot, but with Ali’s directions, we continue on to the parking lot above the road to the bottom of Zabde. Ali is already an adult and he has his own car and driver’s license. He drives his mother home.
The parking lots above the road are almost empty. The official parking lot, which is large, is very full. As yet, at this hour, there are no people returning from work.
On the way back, the security guard at the vehicle checkpoint asks what I am doing in this place. When I answered that I was transporting Ali and his mother, he opened the checkpoint immediately.
13:40 – Tura-Shaked Checkpoint
I dropped by Tura Checkpoint because I thought that I would meet the high school students who pass through the checkpoint on their way from schools in the West Bank to their homes in Daher al Malec in the Seamline Zone. I made a mistake. The checkpoint was quiet and empty.
13:50 – A man and woman waited in the neglected shed. Each one telephoned to someone who was supposed to come and transport them, but as yet no one came. I asked if they wanted to ride with me to Umm Reihan. The man agreed immediately and the woman hesitated. He spoke with her and she gave in. We traveled and separated with blessings for a good Ramadan.
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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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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