Barta’a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya’bed-Dotan
05:45 – Barta'a Reihan Checkpoint
A lot of workers are waiting for rides, and since there is nowhere to sit and no shade, most are sitting on the curb. We meet the seamstresses who are also waiting for their rides. We are told that today crossing went quickly, without any delays.
Private cars are currently being checked in the vehicle inspection facility. There are at least 15 trucks in the parking area, loaded with produce, waiting to be checked and to cross to the seamline zone.
06:05– A steady stream of people begins to emerge from the terminal. People report that crossing today is going quickly and there are no problems. There are many boys, 16-year-old and up, on school vacation who have received permits to work in the seamline zone.
At 06:20 we drive towards Yaabed – Dotan checkpoint and stop in Emricha to give people bags of used clothing and toys that a friend had given us. At 06:30 there is no one outside except for a few chickens. Even the dogs are still asleep. We left the bags of clothing and toys next to one of the houses.
On our way to A'anin Checkpoint we passed Reihan – Barta'a Checkpoint again and saw that there were still a lot of workers waiting for rides.
06:50 – A'anin Checkpoint
The gate is open and at least 10 people who are waiting outside report that the gate was opened on time, but some people are not allowed to cross because they have no permits or their permits have expired. Five tractors cross one after another and pick up some of the people who are waiting. We go out of our way to bring an elderly man from Tura – Shaked to Um Al Fahem and then return
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07:20 – Tura Shaked
The checkpoint opened late and only the second person has crossed through when we arrive. A horse and wagon carrying an elderly couple cross the checkpoint through the vehicle crossing towards the seamline zone. Vehicles are waiting for passengers on the seamline zone side. There are a lot of people crossing. One person reports that the checkpoint is "good" today. Two farmers carrying pruning shears cross to their fields, which are located in the seamline zone, to harvest tobacco. The harvest is nearly over and they are satisfied with the yield this year.
We left at 07:40.
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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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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