Reihan, Shaked, Sat 16.4.11, Morning
Translation: Bracha B.A.
07:20 Reihan Checkpoint
One window is open and the hallways are empty. Evidently everything is going smoothly.
At 07:30 we observed a long waiting line in the sleeve in front of the entrance to the terminal, and it is not clear why.
At 07:35 people coming out of the terminal reported that it was crowded inside, and a uniformed staff member said he would check to see why.
At 07:50 the line starts to break up and people begin to come out. There is a lot of congestion inside and noise, people shouting and doors slamming. The window closest to the turnstile is operating and it is crowded in the hallway. People complain about the long wait inside and the one staff member there is talking on the phone.
The worker is replaced by another who starts yelling at people, in Hebrew, to get back. A line forms and she shouts to the other worker not to let anyone else inside. The orders come from the balcony where the security workers are located, and people respond angrily. We followed the progress of one woman and it took her 40 minutes to get through – from 07:30 to 08:10.
08:10– The hallway was finally empty.
08:15– There are a lot of people inside again.
08:25– The terminal is empty. People say that it took them a half hour to get through.
We left at 08:35. 7 vans are waiting to be checked. The bathrooms at the top of the checkpoint are clean, but those at the bottom are dirty, and there is no room in the parking lot.
09:00 – 09:15 – Dotan Checkpoint
There are four reservists (one in the tower and three below. Their helmets are on the fence and no cars are being checked.
09:30 – 09:45 – Shaked-Tura Checkpoint
Phot
o: A discussion before receiving permission to cross.
Farmers are planting tobacco. There is little traffic and vehicles are checked slowly and inefficiently. The soldiers explain the inspection procedure to one of the drivers. There is a D9 tractor parked at the army base near the checkpoint. There are no flags on the settlers' roads – there is no evidence of the holiday yet.
We took our guest to see the A'anin Checkpoint and a soldier shouted at us not to come there anymore and that it was a military zone. We left since the checkpoint was not operating on Saturday anyway.
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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