Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya'bed-Dotan
15:15 – Yaabed-Dotan Checkpoint
A group of soldiers arrived through the muddy field. This morning it rained here. A military jeep arrived and the soldiers as usual were concerned about our safety and asked us to leave. We remained for a while but the line of cars was getting longer and longer because of the jeep standing in the middle of the crossing because of us, so we moved back. Many of the drivers waved to us in greeting.
15:30 – Reihan-Barta’a Checkpoint
The parking lot was full as usual. People who worked in construction in Harish were constantly passing through the turnstile. The turnstile changed direction occasionally to let people through who were crossing to the seamline zone, including some women and children. It appears that the construction of the new sophisticated facility with many turnstiles has been delayed, perhaps because of the Passover holiday. Elia received four new requests to eliminate bans to enter Israel and we purchased all kinds of sweets and cakes in the booths in the parking lot.
16:45 – Tura Shaked Checkpoint
The checkpoint, which is usually quiet, was extremely busy and very irritating. Several vehicles were waiting to cross. We heard voices from inside the checkpoint. At last a vehicle from the Liaison and Coordination Administration arrived and within a few minutes a fancy 4×4 car arrived with two new chairs that had been purchased in Jenin. The driver showed us the chairs, which, according to the soldiers, could only be transported to the seamline zone by previous arrangement. All of us are struck with the irony of the situation and at the waste of the driver’s time as well as that of the other drivers. The Palestinians who live in the seamline zone – the supposed Israeli side of the separation barrier – belong to the area that is under jurisdiction of the Jenin municipality and have green ID cards (Palestinian). The driver, who identified himself with his ID certificate that was issued in the Liaison and Coordination Administration in Salem, was told by the soldiers that “The ID isn’t always correct.”
Women and children dressed in holiday clothes crossed the checkpoint and even stopped to take pictures.
We visited the “Mifgash HaShalom” (The peace meeting place) that we reported recently that is located between Mei Ami and Um Al Fahem. The place is growing and developing. There are now a kiosk palm trees, and statues against the background of the sunset.
Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint
See all reports for this place-
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).
-
Tura-Shaked
See all reports for this place-
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
-
Ya'bed-Dotan
See all reports for this place-
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)
-