07:50 Shaked-Tura Checkpoint

The checkpoint was closed due to a suspicious object on the security road. The object was blown up and proved to be a plastic bag with computer components.

At 08:15 we asked when the checkpoint would be reopened and we were told that it would open soon. Meanwhile some of the people waiting on both sides of the fence gave up and went home.

08:20 – The checkpoint opened. Those who had remained - including a herd of goats - passed through within a short time.

Three soldiers came up to us, one of whom was a captain and sector commander, and was extremely polite and attentive and asked us to let him know about any problems. The second one was apparently a Bedouin tracker and the third was a young man who did not understand that the checkpoints are not located on the border.

09:00 Reihan-Barta’a Checkpoint

Five loaded vans were waiting to be checked and for some reason they were not called until we arrived. After that 3 more vans were waiting in line. A few pedestrians passed through the terminal to the seamline zone, most of whom were merchants with businesses in East Barta’a. A few drivers who transport passengers were waiting in the Palestinian parking lot. We understood that one of the reasons there were so few was that the Palestinian Authority is “making problems” for drivers who are not certified taxi drivers.

We left the checkpoint at 10:00.

Location Description

Tura-Shaked Checkpoint

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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-22-2022

Ruti Tuval

The locked gate at the Anin checkpoint

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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).

Reihan, Shaked, Wed 8.7.09, Morning

07:50 Shaked-Tura Checkpoint

09:00 Reihan-Barta’a Checkpoint

The locked gate at the Anin checkpoint