Barta’a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked, Ya’bed-Dotan, Thu 11.4.13, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
No effort is made to open the checkpoints at a set time.
Those manning the checkpoints are still refusing entry to people who don’t appear to be dressed in a manner “appropriate” to a Palestinian fellah.
06:10-07:00 People may cross through the A’anin checkpoint only if their clothes are dirty.
It’s quiet, silent. There are indications that soldiers are at the checkpoint, but no one goes through. That lasts until 06:30. Inspections were conducted in the middle of the checkpoint, behind the main gate. Only 20 people went through by 07:00, at a very slow rate. Those exiting said the computer was down and information was being recorded by hand. Well – that explains everything.
The mistreatment continues of people claiming they’re on their way to work in the fields but are dressed too cleanly. A female soldier with a well-developed sense of fashion sends home those she thinks are dressed too elegantly for manual labor. That seems to her very suspicious. It’s clear that the Palestinians have already developed ways to outwit her and the MPs’ fashion decrees. Neta spoke to the soldier on duty at the DCO about delays in allowing people through; I spoke to him about the clothes – but the soldier, despite his willingness to help, didn’t really understand who I was, what we’re doing at the checkpoint, why aren’t they allowing us through, and are we really sure that the military police are picking on Palestinians because of the clothes they’re wearing…
07:10-07:25 The Shaked checkpoint also awakens slowly.
Here too they opened late; a line of little children and adults formed on the seam zone side, and of laborers on the Tura side. Crossing began at about 07:15, calmly, everyone knows what’s allowed and what’s forbidden, only holders of crossing-permits show up, so what’s not to like? Why should any problems arise? What a successful occupation.
07:25-07:50 Yabed-Dothan checkpoint
The side road to Yabed that turns off the main road to Jenin is blocked to cars by a heavy yellow iron bar, one of the occupation’s earmarks. In addition, a military jeep was parked there, apparently to prevent people from going through on foot.
We arrived at the checkpoint and here, too – life had come to a halt. Cars waited on both sides while the soldiers conducted some kind of attack/defense exercise, ran around with their weapons, fell to the ground, kneeled, squinted and aimed, etc. Finally they gathered around a low-ranking officer who apparently summed up their fling and went on his way. And then the crossing opened; traffic flowed in both directions without delays while we were there.
08:00 Reihan checkpoint
We drove by without entering this large, busy checkpoint. Seven commercial vehicles waited to have their loads inspected. The parking lot is jammed. Few people were in the fenced corridor leading up from the terminal.
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)
Ruti TuvalMar-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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