Barta'a checkpoint: No hitchhiking

Place:

Barta'a-Reihan

East Bartaa Junction

Tura-Shaked

Ya'bed-Dotan

Tags:

Breach in the separation fence

Separation fence

Observers:

Rachel Weizman and Ruthi Tuval (Reporting) Translation: Bracha Ben-Avraham

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Nov-23-2021

Afternoon

Ya`abed checkpoint: Rachel tells the soldiers about Machsom Watch

Photo:

Ruti Tuval

15:00 – Reihan – Barta’a Checkpoint

We watched the lively activity going on as people crossed through the holes in the security fence on our way to the checkpoint.

One of the seamstresses was walking from the upper parking lot on the seamline zone side and asked us for a ride. She was elderly and had difficulty walking up the hill and along the sleeve info-icon . We apologized and explained to her in Arabic that we were not allowed to take her. We drove up to the security guards on the other side and asked them for permission. They refused despite the fact that people could cross the form the West Bank freely without being checked. One of them whispered to Rachel: “You do amazing work.”

The parking lots on the Palestinian side were unusually crowded today.

15:25 – Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint

We approached the memorial for Moshe Tamam to view the vehicle crossing. A jeep quickly approached and several armed soldiers got out. They were joined by two others from the pillbox who were also armed and fully equipped. “Don’t you know it’s dangerous here?” Rachel explained to them about things they didn’t know about, including Machsom Watch, and they listened.

15:50 – Barta’a Reihan Checkpoint

Many workers were returning from work and walking down the fenced – in covered sleeve. Vehicles were bringing workers back from work to the upper parking lot. We talked with one worker who is a handyman in Hadera and other places. He seemed happy and satisfied with his job.

16:20 – Tura Shaked Checkpoint

The checkpoint was quiet and dirty as usual. Several cars crossed without delay and there was a red sunset to the west.

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)

East Brartaa Junction

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The main station at the eastern Barta'a junction (Roads 611/6115).
A junction without special activities became about April 2020 a bustling center of transportation to workplaces in Israel, following the free passage through loopholes in the nearby separation fence.
Palestinian workers from all over the West Bank gather here every morning, without transit permits and often without masks. The army is turning a blind eye and the occupation is losing control.
There is also no shortage of coffee and pastry stalls.

Sep-27-2023

Hagar Dror

Barta'a: rapid construction of the separation fence

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