Barta'a-Reihan, Ya'bed-Dotan
There was a lot of traffic on the road today and the road through Wadi Ara was jammed with traffic. Evidently there was an accident. There is a new road to the checkpoint via Katzir.
We arrived at Tura Shaked Checkpoint at 17:00. The garbage container had been emptied, but there was garbage scattered around it. Cars were going in and out of the checkpoint and collected passengers while others dropped people off. Everything was quiet as usual – a “fabric of life” checkpoint.
Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint
On our way to the Yaabed Checkpoint we could see a lot of cars in the parking lot belonging to the checkpoint. The hill at Zibda was covered with parked cars. There was a tent at the entrance to each parking lot that served as a pay booth. There were a lot of numbered signs along the road to Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint. We were received at the checkpoint by soldiers who were concerned for our safety and advised us to stand behind the concrete blocks at the inside of the checkpoint. They reminded us about the terrorist attack that took place a short time ago.
A lot of Palestinian cars crossed the checkpoint without being checked. Everything was routine. “That’s what life is like here.” Suddenly despite all the signs warning Israelis not to enter Area A we saw a car with Israeli license plates driving east towards Yaabed or Jenin. Workers were working in the tobacco fields on the sides of the road and drivers were waiting for them in attractive cars. There were a lot of Israeli cars on all the roads that were evidently bringing people home from work in Israel.
We returned to Barta’a Checkpoint. There were free parking spaces in the Palestinian parking lot. Workers were walking down the sleeve to the terminal. A police car was standing outside and his presence was causing even more of a traffic jam.
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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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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