The northern chekpoints: the routine of the occupation is the routine of life
North, 18.05.2023 Afternoon
Translation: Bracha Ben-Avraham
Only the screen for the navigation system recognizes the green line.
15:20 – We drove past Barta’a Checkpoint and the parking lots that were still crowded. The screen of the navigation system in the car recognizes the green line a lot more than most Israelis. On the way to the village of Emricha the signs change from Hebrew to Arabic transliterated into English that point to the road to Emricha.
15:30 – Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint
It appeared that the checkpoint was not manned. Traffic was flowing freely, and most of it was in the direction of Jenin and Yaabed. When we turned towards Hermesh the navigation screen showed “Tarik Kafin” (Kafin Road) in English.
15:45 – Hermesh Checkpoint
The watchtower was abandoned and the yellow gate on the road was open. It appeared that the checkpoint had never been here.
16:00 – Barta’a Reihan Checkpoint, Palestinian Side
The huge crowded parking lots make their surrounding areas unattractive. Many drivers still prefer to park on the side of the road far from the checkpoint where there are no red and white markers because they are unwilling or unable to pay NIS 10 each day for parking or, of course, to pay fines for parking illegally. People’s permits have also been revoked because of parking violations. Drivers and passengers were gathered next to the crossing shed. There were booths selling peanuts, cakes, and fruit under the shed. A lot of people were returning from work in Israel and the seamline zone. There were almost no women. A few people were crossing in the opposite direction to the seamline zone. Three boys were wandering about selling coffee. The kiosk wagon was open and there was a watermelon stand outside the parking lot. We did not hear any complaints today. Everything was according to the bleak routine of occupation.
16:30 – Tura – Shaked Checkpoint
A policeman and policewoman from the border patrol were collecting soda cans to get refunds. For a moment we were amazed and thought they were actually cleaning up the littered surroundings. A few people were returning from work and an employer dropped workers off from the “Elephant Wood Factory” which is located in Hadera and has its plant here in the Shahak Industrial zone that is in the seamline zone. They were wearing T-shirts with the factory name on them. Some people complained that the checkpoint had only opened at 07:45 instead of 07:00.
16:45 A’anin Checkpoint
The checkpoint is open only on Mondays and Wednesdays, but is manned 24/7. A man and woman soldier were surprised to see us there. We looked at the threatening wall and the two cranes that were not working.
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'Anin checkpoint (214)
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'Anin checkpoint (214)
'Anin checkpoint is located on the Separation Fence east of the Israeli community Mei Ami and close to the village of Anin in the West Bank. It is opened twice a week, morning and afternoon, on days with shorter light time, for Anin farmers whose olive groves have been separated from the village by the fence it became difficult to cultivate their land. Transit permits are only issued to those who can produce ownership documents for their caged-in land, and sometimes only to the head of the family or his widow, eldest son, and children. Sometimes the inheritors lose their right to tend to the family’s land. The permits are eked out and are re-issued only with difficulty. 55-year-old persons may cross the checkpoint (into Israel) without special permits. During the olive harvest season (about one month around October) the checkpoint is open daily and more transit permits are issued. Names of persons eligible to cross are held in the soldiers’ computers. In July 2007, a sweeping instruction was issued, stating that whoever does not return to the village through this checkpoint in the afternoon will be stripped of his transit permit when he shows up there next time. Since 2019, the checkpoint has not been allways locked with the seam-line zone gate (1 of 3 gates), and the fence around it has been broken in several sites.
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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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Hermesh
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Hermesh
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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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