Reihan, Shaked, Sat 3.4.10, Morning
Translation: Bracha B.A.
06:55 – Reihan Barta'a Checkpoint
Regards from Walid and.. When will the closure end?
We are surprised to find the paved road at the turn south of the checkpoint despite the fact that we reported it earlier. The smell of smoke from the charcoal factory fills the air.
The dogs barked and barked and the loudspeakers announced that crossing has begun. The gate on the road opens 3-4 minutes later. The position on the road opens and is watched by two armed guards – one next to it and one above. We glared at the guard who lowered his weapons that had been trained at the people. The other guard walked onto the bridge, his weapons still trained on the people, and yelled to us, "On a morning like this at your age you should be at home and not running about."
07:10 – The first people begin to come out. Walid greets us happily. He looks good and is smiling. He works in the charcoal factory and has a permit and is able to sleep at home. It is quiet near the gate and there is little traffic. People cross quickly. There are two windows open in the terminal. The closure does not have any impact upon people with permits to Barta'a, but those who work in the settlements and the Shahak Industrial zone cannot cross except for those who work in the carpet factory. We are told, "Evidently the owner made a fuss."
There are 8 vans in the upper parking lot waiting for passengers. We left at 07:55.
08:05 – Shaked Tura CheckpointThere are two male soldiers and one woman. A shepherd, his herd, and a donkey are not allowed through. We learn from a soldier from the armored corps who takes an interest in where we are from that his permit is not valid.
A woman soldier from the Military Police appears to be occupied with the shepherd. She also wants to know if we are OK and if we need anything. A young woman is standing outside the inspection booth. We remember her from before. She knocks on the door of the inspection booth but it doesn't open. This goes on again and again. Whoever is standing outside has no way of knowing if there is another check going on inside or how long they have to wait.
Two young men with a foal attempt to cross and it takes a while until a phone call is made and they are allowed to cross. The shepherd, donkey, and the flock are still waiting.
We left at 08:30.
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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