Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
15:30 – Yaabed Mevo Dotan Checkpoint
On the way to the checkpoint we saw flags where the attack took place two days ago in which two soldiers were killed and two others injured by a Palestinian driver who ran into them with his car. The Yaabed Checkpoint is manned and three women soldiers and one man arrived from the olive grove and joined the soldiers who were already there. The commander ordered them to spread out at the checkpoint as they had learned. A sad and dispirited soldier came up to us. He had been at home when the attack took place.
Traffic was flowing without delay. Drivers who knew us from Barta’a Checkpoint who usually wave and greet us cheerfully were restrained and serious today. On the way back we stopped at the spot where the attack took place. Two civilians from Mevo Dotan armed with pistols were busy erecting a mourning tent that they explained was for prayers. They were concerned about our safety and suggested that we leave. Further on we saw traffic near the pillbox at the top of the hill near the village of Emricha. Evidently a large truck had finished loading concrete blocks and continued on its way accompanied by an army vehicle. We wondered to where they were being transported and tried to follow, but the truck stopped at a junction and a soldier came and asked us what we were doing when we stopped to photograph a donkey. We continued on to Barta’a Checkpoint.
16:15 – Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint
The parking lot was very crowded and noisy. We heard two people explain that were near the place where the attack took place and were the first to arrive and help. A., an ambulance driver who arrived in his private car, offered help. He explained that on one hand he was fearful of the reaction of passers-by but on the other hand he felt that he needed to help everyone without discrimination. A film published on YNet confirms his story.
Several people approached us and asked for help eliminating bans to enter Israel. The small market was moved from the parking lot to the road. The coffee vendor complained about the lack of business he was suffering.
17:25 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint
The checkpoint was quieter than ever.
On our way home we took the road that goes past Mei Ami and Um el Fahem.
A place has been set up on the road by Arabs called “The Peace Meeting Place.” There is a row of young cypress trees, sculptures, and a table with abandoned coffee cups. We did not meet anyone there. The place overlooks the southern slopes of Um El Fahem. It is difficult to park there but we will continue to stop there and report about the place in the future.
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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