Mevo Dotan (Imriha), Reihan, Shaked, Sun 16.5.10, Morning
Translation: Bracha B.A.
Shaked-Tura, 09:30
A man is waiting next to the turnstile and two women, a man, and two tractors are crossing to the West Bank. One of the tractors is driven by Muchtaram, who is allegedly carrying bags of green tobacco leaves. He drives up to the inspection point when it becomes free and the soldier signals him that he should have waited for him to signal him to come. The sacks are checked with the X-ray machine and cars pass through after 3 or 4 minutes, including the time it takes for drivers to be checked.
At 09:57 three women arrive in a transit and at 10:02 the soldiers close the far gate and open it again for the women who emerge from the inspection booth.
At 01:09 the soldiers prepare to leave the checkpoint.
10:15 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint
Palestinian parking lot is full and seven trucks wait for inspection on the road rather than in the parking lot as usual, perhaps to give the merchants a place to park their cars. We try to verify the claim that no truck have been checked yet. A security guard assures us that the third wave of tenders is already inside the inspection facility since 06:00 that morning. Every round of inspections takes about an hour and a half.
At 10:39 a small truck carrying sheep and a van and private car enter to be inspected. Two private cars drive up to the inspection booth. A loud argument breaks out between two truck drivers. Suddenly a woman's voice calls out over the loudspeakers, "Suspicious object, suspicious object." The electronic gate begins to close and a voice announces, "The exercise is over." A security guard smiles at us. "It's hot, it's hot."
We drive to the Dotan checkpoint to check a claim that drivers had made that they were not allowed to bring eggs to the Barta'a Checkpoint. We were told by the soldiers that there had been an order because of fear of outbreak of avian flu, but the order was revoked.
11:15 – Reihan Barta'a
There is only one truck on the road loaded with furniture. Five well-dressed men emerge from sleeve towards us. They have come from Tul Karem. There are three men sitting on the bench inside the terminal and they are joined by another four. A woman, man, and three children go through within three minutes after a phone call is made. Someone is arguing with the clerk in the booth. He is noted for not having returned through the checkpoint yesterday. "You want to talk to Sharon, the checkpoint manager? Stand over there on the side." Someone else comes out after ten minutes.
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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