Reihan, Shaked, Mon 6.7.09, Afternoon
Translation: Bracha B.A.
Reihan-Barta’a Checkpoint, 16:40
The parking lot is full of cars that were left there in the morning when people went to work, as wel as yellow taxis and private cars of drivers who unofficially drive people to work. The drivers of the taxis are usually residents of Barta’a who drove down to the lower parking lot and compete with the permanent Palestinian drivers from the West Bank for the little work they have. Recently unofficial taxi drivers are not permitted to drive to Jenin. One of the drivers told us that he was caught by the Palestinian police in Jenin and fined NIS 600 for driving passengers for pay.
Despair and helplessness force drivers to look for employment solutions. They ask us if it is possible to work at alternative jobs but we have no solution either.
At 4:00 they spread out the prayer rugs to worship and some pray.
A handsome youth, about 15-year-old, is spending his summer vacation selling coffee at the checkpoint. He goes from one person to the next offering his wares in small plastic cups. He also approaches us and does not leave us alone until we offer an excuse. People are coming back from work now. Among them are some who came through Irtah in the morning who report that there is improvement there, but ask to be able to come earlier during the coming hot days and the approaching month of Ramadan. People are coming through the terminal at a reasonable rate without being delayed, and according to the routine regulations.
At this time there are no tenders with merchandise to check and occasionally a private vehicle comes through.
16:30 – Shaked Tura-Checkpoint
A large herd of goats crosses the road, reminding us of the pastoral character of the area that no longer exists. A young woman traditionally covered on this hot day holds two children: one is an infant. She needs to get to Barta’a and waits in Leah’s car until someone comes to pick her up. There is little traffic at this hour.
We left at 17:00.
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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