Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked
We drove past Barta’a and saw that the parking lots were full but people no longer parked alongside the road, due to the heavy fines imposed recently. We drove on to Hermesh and Dotan Checkpoints. Cars were crossing freely through both checkpoints. Wildflowers were in full bloom and the Dotan Valley was covered in carpets of white anemones.
16:30 – Barta’a Palestinian Side
We parked our car and were immediately approached by children selling coffee for a Shekel a cup. We gave them five Shekels. People complained that between 05:00 and 07:00 it takes a long time to cross – 20 to 30 minutes. They complained that during those hours only one of the four automatic lanes is working, and that causes a backup at the entrance to the seamline zone. We were urged to come in the morning to see for ourselves.
A young man approached us, who needs to change his crossing hours from 07:00 to 06:00. He works in Hadera selling junk and needs to be there early in the morning.
Another young man who works in security on the Palestinian side asked for help in entering Israel. We referred him to Sylvia.
When we left the checkpoint a security guard checked our trunk wearing rubber gloves (possibly due to Coronavirus precautions).
17:20 – Tura Checkpoint
We arrived at Tura to see an amazing sight: A herd of goats, kids, and a few sheep, driven by an old woman and young man. They were attempting to bring the herd across to sell the animals on the Palestinian side. The herd did not receive the necessary permits and they were forced to return with it to their village of Um-Reihan, in the seamline zone.
We returned home at 17:40.
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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