Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked

Tura Checkpoint – 15:30 

Five cars crossed in both directions. The crossing was quick but three of them had to wait to enter the checkpoint area.  Two special education and science teaching students returned from the university in Jenin and waited for their ride home to Um A Reihan in the seamline zone. They say that in the morning the checkpoint only opens at 07:30 and they are constantly hurrying to get to the university on time. Two more men arrived and showed us that there were still gaps in the fence, which were being used because “people have to make a living.”   

Barta’a Checkpoint – 05:50 

Now that the sleeve leading to and from the terminal has been extended, workers can get in and out of cars in an orderly fashion. Dozens of workers were returning from construction work and walking down the sleeve.  Some stopped at the kiosk. Most people were buying telephone cards.  Near the entrance, I saw three women carrying shopping baskets in the lower parking lot and three men walking towards the road.  They are residents of Barta’a in the seamline zone.  They were returning from Jenin, doing errands and shopping, and had no car.  They got out of a taxi and had to walk up to the vehicle checkpoint for the cars entering the seamline zone. It was a long way to walk in the heat of the hot sun. From there they had to continue to the upper parking lot to find a taxi to Barta’a. One of the checkpoint workers explained that the entrance for pedestrians into the terminal was only open until 12:00 and is only open in the morning. 

Cars were bringing workers back to the checkpoint on the road from Harish to the checkpoint, but there are still workers crossing back to the West Bank through two gaps in the fence.