Reihan, Shaked, Tue 22.3.11, Morning
Translated by Yael S.
06:00 (the new)Reihan-Barta'a checkpoint
The last workers of the SHAHAK industrial zone, by the Shaked settlement, as well as the seamstress, come out of the terminal on their way to work, going from the West Bank into the Seam Line zone.
On the road there are pickup trucks awaiting inspection, workers get into the terminal from the Palestinian car park in small groups without waiting.
06:30– The first three small trucks drive into the intermediate checkpoint and hand down their papers to the security guard. Shortly after that they are joined by two private vehicles. A number of small trucks with agriculture merchandise stand at the parking lot, they would wait there for a long time before being called for inspection.
On our way out of the checkpoint area we meet a number of people who are employed at Sh"hak, and are waiting transportation. People are tired, and in despair, they describe their working conditions that are hard to bare, a low salary that is not sufficient to care for their families, they complain of a cynical exploitation of their weakness and their fear of complaining in an attempt to better their conditions.
We wonder whom we can turn to for help without disclosing the complainers, which might even worsen they situation.
07:00 Shaked-Tura checkpoint
Soldiers open the gate at this very moment.
On the side of the West Bank there are 25 people wait. With in, a minute they'll be joined by the Sheppard and his tens of the blue eyes sheep. In the mean time no one crosses over.
A soldier approaches those waiting and lines them up and:"one by one". Its been a while since we've last heard that. We also hear some nervous voices from that direction.
A soldier calls his peer "come and help me". Apparently there is no great love between the two sides.
At the open inspection cabin we see a soldier with a pointed gun to the direction of the Seam Line zone. In a moment like a mechanic manikin he'd change position towards the West Bank and vices versa.
Children arrive on site followed by the adults.
All cross the checkpoint by the low concrete wall, they go by the soldiers with their open school bags.
One of those going through tells us that about agriculture passage permits that are now given out in a measured fashion only every three or four months.
We are also informed of sour that flows from the army base in the direction of the olive grove and of many complaints regarding this that has remained un answered.
07:45– We left.
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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