Barta’a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya’bed-Dotan, Sat 21.9.13, Morning
07:30 – 08:00 – Shaked – Tura Checkpoint
This is officially the first day of autumn. There are thousands of squill flowers in Wadi Ara and the area of Reihan, and there are clouds in 5the sky that will soon bring the first rain. The checkpoint is open and there is traffic of pedestrians and vehicles in both directions. The herd of goats passed through when we arrived. People are crossing quickly without delay. A man told us that his friend bought a new car, submitted the appropriate documents, but has still not received a permit for the car. In the past Hannah Berg helped in this matter and advised him to check the transfer of ownership, which is often a problem.
08:10 – 08:40 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint
The checkpoint is a little less crowded than usual and there is traffic in both directions moving quickly. We measured the crossing time for people to be about 7 minutes. People coming out of the terminal told us that today things were going well. We met Madi and Amjad in the parking lot where they were waiting for a ride. They had crossed through the Dotan checkpoint and reported that there was not yet a checkpoint there this morning. We will drive there and see.
Yaabed Dotan 09:00 – 09:20
The checkpoint is manned. Soldiers wearing yarmulkes tell each other that they just said the blessing over the wine and offer a glass. Traffic is moving smoothly and the soldiers open each lane alternately so cars can drive through. The soldiers are polite and ask us not to cross the concrete barriers. While we were observing someone shouts to us: "What are you looking at? We'll plant explosives for you."
We cannot compare what is going on here with the situation in the Jordan Valley or Hebron [which is far worse] but still, the routine of the checkpoints is deeply assimilated into people's lives as if there were no other reality.
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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