Barta’a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya’bed-Dotan
15:00 – Tura Shaked Checkpoint
When we arrived we saw three soldiers – two women and one man – leaving the checkpoint on foot. Another shift had ended. It is a cool day with clear skies and the air is clear and very cold. We think briefly about the huge waste of people's lives. Things could be different. Maybe one day they will. Several cars leave the seamline zone. One car arrives from the seamline zone (Israel) and the driver shouts towards the olive grove. Two older women wrapped in layers of clothing holding tools emerge and go down to the road, and get into the car. He drives away towards the west.
15:30 – Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint
Here, too, we are greeted by a strange combination of serenity and cruel reality. We see bright green vegetation, white and red anemones, and a checkpoint and soldiers. One soldier approaches us and asks who we are. He had not heard about us. An officer appears. He has heard of us, but we can't figure out whether he is for us or against us. A lot of cars are crossing towards the West Bank without any checks or delay. Suddenly the soldiers all disappeared. The checkpoint was empty. We drove into the checkpoint, turned around, and drove back. Nothing happened. So why have the checkpoint there in the first place? At 16:00 we left.
16:10 – Barta'a Reihan Checkpoint
There were many cars parked in the Palestinian parking lot and along the road. We parked in the upper parking lot. There was little traffic and only a few cars on this side. We walked down through the sleeve to the terminal. From what we hear from people returning home, all four positions in the terminal are operating. There is no delay and the terminal is not crowded. People are hurrying home. Tomorrow is another new-old day. On our way back a thin elderly man came up to Ruthi and asked "Why weren't you here in the morning?" Ruthi knows him from the A'anin and Tura checkpoint. He is extremely worried. He explains that last week his oldest son mistakenly used his younger brother's ID and his mistake was discovered at A'anin checkpoint. His son was detained by the soldiers and the police came and took him away. He has not received any notification of what happened to his son or where he is. This took place last week, on January 5th. The man is the father of several small children and his father is extremely upset. We took down his name and details and will try and help.*
*A request had already been received this morning at the hotline for individual protection, asking to locate H.Y. The request was made by his cousin. When we approached them they already knew who we were talking about. When we asked how it was possible for a person to have been taken more than a week ago and his family does not know where he is, we were told, "That's the Occupation. Don't you know?" We will continue to investigate and will let his father know.
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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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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