Barta’a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya’bed-Dotan, Sun 29.9.13, Afternoon
14:10 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint
We dropped off Ali and his mother at Reihan Barta'a beyond the checkpoint. The parking lot was crowded so we didn't drive in. We saw workers descending the sleeve on their way back from work. There were seven trucks parked on the road waiting to be checked. Ali's father, who had come to collect his family, told us that the situation at the Dotan checkpoint was difficult today.
14:30 – Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint
Indeed, the checkpoint was crowded on both sides. ON the Jenin side, soldiers were checking ID cards of drivers and of their passengers. While we were there, two taxis and one car with their passengers were not permitted to cross. We asked the soldiers for an explanation but were given none. During the time we were there a long slow-moving line formed. There were many jeeps that went back and forth across the checkpoint. We were told this was due to a stone throwing incident and that an explosive charge had also been found, but were not given any further details. We also heard that this checkpoint was manned since 07:00 this morning and that a second checkpoint has been set up at the main entrance to Yaabed. We asked people coming from Reihan if the terminal was still crowded at the place where people's magnetic cards were checked and were told that people had to wait there for 4-5 hours.
15:40 – Tura Shaked Checkpoint
A cool breeze is blowing and the soldiers are busy talking on the stairs. There is very little traffic. We met a farmer coming back from his olive groves with a bucket of beautiful olives. Two students from Jenin politely declined our offer of a ride and explained that someone was coming to pick them up.
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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