The Palestinians wait quietly without complaining. We are spoiled and complain.
Yesterday I phoned the District Coordination and Liaison Office to find about the closure during the Sukkot holiday. We were not here early in the morning, but the soldier who answered told me that the checkpoint at Barta’a Reihan was open during its usual hours. He did not know who would be permitted to cross or what was happening at the agricultural checkpoints. He referred me to the head of the civil administration and that I could find their phone number on the Internet.
I found the numbers *4943 or 074-7642929. A polite woman answered and said that the agricultural checkpoints would be open as usual. She was unable to clarify what was happening in the Shahak Industrial Zone in the seamline zone. Our friend B. who works in the carpet factory there phoned Leah earlier to complain that he had not been allowed to cross at Reihan – Barta’a. The District Coordination and Liaison Office did not answer Leah either.
06:00 – Barta’a Reihan Checkpoint, Palestinian Side
The parking lot was nearly empty. Only a few people were coming and entering the terminal. There was a closure for the Sukkot holiday and no entry into Israel. Even the few people who are allowed to cross at this checkpoint in the morning were not allowed. There was also no entry into the Shahak Industrial Zone despite the fact that it is in the seamline zone – the area belonging to Palestine between the green line and the separation barrier and not in Israel. People who work in East Barta’a were allowed to cross, but most arrive later.
06:30 – A’anin Checkpoint
A lieutenant who was a representative from the District Coordination and Liaison Office and we arrived on time. The soldiers responsible for opening the checkpoint were not there. No one answered the phone at the District Coordination and Liaison office. When we called the public complaints line at the civil administration we were answered by a recorded message that the office if open from 08:00 – 17:00. The lieutenant explained that the delay was due to the soldiers from the brigade and that we should call them. We did not have their correct phone number. The lieutenant from the District Coordination and Liaison Office left and then came back again. We were nearly ready to give up and leave as well when the soldiers finally arrived at 07:15 – 45 minutes late – and open the checkpoint. About 20 men, one woman, and two tractors crossed. No one complained about the delay. The woman was going to visit her daughter and son-in-law, who were waiting for her in their car.
07:40 – Tibeh Romena Checkpoint
The soldiers worked quickly, and the delay was reduced to 40 minutes. About a dozen people and two tractors crossed. Here, too, no one complained. We are spoiled and feel people need to be on time.
'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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Tayba-Rummana
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Tayba-Rummana is an agricultural checkpoint. It is located in the separation fence in front of the eastern slopes of the Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm. The Palestinian villages next to the checkpoint are Khirbet Tayba and Rummana. Dozens of dunams of olive groves were removed from their owners, the residents of these villages on the western side of the separation fence. The Palestinian villages next to the checkpoint are Khirbet Tayba and Rumna. Dozens of olives dunams were removed from these villages' residents and swallowed up in a narrow strip of space, on the western side of the separation fence. The checkpoint allows the plantation owners who have permits to pass. Twice a week, the checkpoint opens for fifteen minutes in the morning and evening. During the harvest season, it opens every day for fifteen minutes in the morning (around 0630) and fifteen minutes in the afternoon (around 1530). (February 2020).
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