Barta’a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked
The Usual Checkpoint Routine
05:30 – Barta’a Checkpoint
Many Palestinians are waiting at the exit from the checkpoint after crossing quickly. We drove to the orderly half-empty parking lot. The far parking lot was also empty and there were no cars parked on the side of the road. The two Palestinian parking attendants showed us into the parking lot and did not take any money because they knew that we would be leaving soon. There was no waiting line, but we were told that when the checkpoint opened at 05:00 there were many people waiting to cross.
At 05:45 a lot of busses and minibuses arrived and the workers disappeared into the turnstiles.
The truck drivers complained that attendants began to check them only at 08:00. It is not clear if they constitute a group that could work together and put pressure on the Liaison and Coordination Administration or if Irit could help them. We spoke with one of the drivers but he felt that this was not feasible.
06:00 – We returned to the upper exit and descended to the entrance to through the long, fenced – in sleeve to observe people exiting the terminal. We passed the kiosk that has turned into a coffee house. Despite the Ramadan fast it was filled with people drinking coffee, eating, and smoking. Workers were coming out quickly after a short check. Three windows were operating.
At 06:15 we left for Tura – Shaked Checkpoint. At 06:25 we passed the soldiers who had left their base and were making their way slowly along the road slowly as usual. They arrived at 06:35. We heard voices of Palestinians who were waiting on the other side of the checkpoint. When we asked why they had not yet begun to let people through the woman soldier answered that the computer had to warm up!
The first people began to cross at 06:40. Most were workers going to work in the seamline zone. One woman smiled as she greeted us and continued on her way. A man stopped next to us and spoke in fluent Hebrew. He has been working as a cook in Israel for many years. He complained that his son, who is less than 16 years old, was not allowed to cross the checkpoint despite the fact that he is listed on his ID card. He has had many problems crossing despite the fact that he has an agricultural permit and lives in Tura and his fields are located on the other side of the fence.
By 07:20 is appeared that all the Palestinians , including several cars, had crossed. We left.
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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