The northern checkpoints function in harmony with the breaches in the separation fence
15:10 – Aanin Agricultural Checkpoint
We arrived early. Even M. and his son had not yet arrived on their tractor. We entered the checkpoint area through the gat to the seamline zone that was always open so that we could make a U turn. Hannah went to see the yellow pillars that block the gate to the checkpoint and the new dirt embankments nearby. The wide break in the fence is still open and people conveniently use it to cross. Evidently we were photographed by the security cameras if any are present, or we were seen by the soldiers in a passing vehicle. After we had exited the checkpoint area we were stopped by a military vehicle vehicle with two male soldiers and one female soldier from the border patrol. They claimed that we were not allowed to even approach the junction leading to the checkpoint, claiming that it is a “security road”. We were also not allowed to give a package of used clothing to M., who had arrived at the checkpoint. They claimed that they had spoken to the brigade commander and these were his orders, though we doubted it. They did not know what Machsom Watch is, did not know what Area C is, and were not interested in knowing anything. We argued with them and showed them our permits and after a half hour of fruitless arguing we left. M. Assured us that the soldiers would arrive to open the checkpoint and that we shouldn’t worry.
15:50 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint
The three soldiers from the border patrol followed us here and claimed that we were not allowed to enter here either. When we stood our ground they finally agreed to look at our permits. The one that convinced them was a letter from the public complaints officer of the central command that had been sent to Hannah Berg in December of 2013. They supposedly read the letter to the brigade commander and gave us permission to be there “on condition that we do not enter the checkpoint.”
There was more vehicle and pedestrian traffic than usual. Three friendly women who had returned from Jenin from Um Al Reihan were waiting for the vehicle in which they had arrived.
We passed by Reihan Barta’a Checkpoint and stopped at F’ minimarket in Emricha where we bought ice cream cones for only 2 Shekels. Evidently F’s business is not doing as well as we thought. She had not turned on the air conditioner or the fan because electricity is expensive.
16:30 – Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint
The pillbox and the road leading to the checkpoint were manned. Perhaps there was some tension after the activity that took place last night in Jenin in which six Palestinians were injured. Perhaps this also had impact on the behavior of the soldiers from the border patrol whom we had met earlier. Long lines of vehicles formed on both sides of the checkpoint. One vehicle was detained and checked and after it was released the rest of the line was free to go as well. Two soldiers approached us here as well, but they were truly concerned for our safety.
17:00 Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint
We sufficed with a quick look at the parking lots on the Palestinian side and on the seamline zone side. Only a few workers were returning from work in Israel at this hour. A group of women returned to the seamline zone on foot through the vehicle checkpoint, since the exit from the terminal is closed during the summer.
17:10 – We returned via route 611. There were a lot of taxis below the village of Kalkis that is next to a popular break in the fence. There was a “taxi station” on the other side of the broken fence and many pedestrians were going back and forth.
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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