There were no soldiers at the checkpoint and it was open to anyone wishing to enter area A

Place:

Barta'a-Reihan

Hermesh

Tura-Shaked

Ya'bed-Dotan

Tags:

Problems at agricultural checkpoints

Seam Zone

Soldiers at checkpoints

Observers:

Marina Banai (Reporting), Ruthi Tuval (Photos), Ruth S., (Botanist and guest and volunteer in the “Road to Recovery” organization

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Apr-23-2019

Afternoon

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מגדל שמירה במאחז מעלה צבי

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עמק דותן ויעבד ממגדל השמירה

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כתובת בכניסה למאחז מעוז צבי או מעלה צבי

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פנים בית הכנסת במאחז

15:15 – Hermesh Checkpoint

There were no soldiers at the checkpoint and it was open to anyone wishing to enter Area A. Bedouin or Turkeman origin live opposite the checkpoint. We met with H., a member of the family who is a goat herdsman. He explained that during the week they live and work in Jenin and return to the tent on weekends to gather with another 20 people. They own about 200 goats that remain in the pasture throughout the year. They produce cheeses that are sold throughout the Palestinian Authority and are known for their high quality. H. also showed us two new settlements located north of the checkpoint.

16:10 – Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint

The checkpoint was quiet and traffic was moving. We walked around the area with our guest. We drove towards the settlement of Mevo Dotan. We turned left on a side road near the gate where there was a sign pointing to “Mevo Dotan Farm” and decided to see the farm. We drove about 4 kilometers along the Hadera River along a narrow winding road with a lovely view. At the end of the road we saw a lot of cars and asked the two soldiers who were guarding where we were, and they told us we were at Mevo Dotan B.

We parked the car and got out to the sound of music playing. We found several young English-speaking [Jewish] religious families. There were games for the children and they appeared to be enjoying themselves. One of the young men said he had been living there for several years and that he was connected with nature in the area. The place is now called Maaleh Zvi in memory of Zvika Shalaf from Mevo Dotan who was killed in a terrorist attack at Baka a Sharkiya in 2001. There are 12 families living in this illegal settlement but the children are provided with transportation to school in Hermesh and Pardes Hannah. There is also a wooden lookout point at the site overlooking the Dotan Valley and Yaabed. The site is constantly guarded by soldiers in the nearby positions.

17:20 Barta’a – Reihan Checkpoint

A man named H. approached us who is a resident of the Palestinian town of Yaabed opposite Mevo Dotan, and asked for our help in obtaining books for learning Hebrew for Arabic speakers. We will be happy to help. H. reported that soldiers forcibly entered his home searching for his brother. They broke into the house but did not find him. He is interested in learning Hebrew so that he can speak with the soldiers. The checkpoint was quiet until a Palestinian worker who was supposed to begin a night shift at work with four other workers were not allowed to cross. We called the offices of the checkpoint and were told: “Yes, we sent 30 people back. The only people who are allowed to cross are residents of Barta’a and humanitarian cases.” The workers called their employer, who might succeed in getting them across.

Translation: Bracha Ben-Avraham

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).

Ya’abad-Dotan

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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)