Barta'a-Reihan, Tura-Shaked
Tura Shaked Checkpoint, 06:50 – 07:30
It was very rainy and cold outside. Pedestrians and vehicles were already waiting on the West Bank side for the checkpoint to open at 07:00. There were also several army and border patrol vehicles. Meanwhile the soldiers arrived from the seamline zone and opened the gates. The checkpoint opened at 07:00 but the first person came out to the seamline zone side only at 07:10. Several minutes later a caravan of military vehicles came out accompanying a private Palestinian vehicle. We later learned that this was a suspicious car that was caught that was apparently connected to what he had heard on the news about shooting at a military position in the area of Yaabed. At the same time, a group of people who wanted to cross to the seamline zone were detained at the checkpoint. According to Palestinians, these were young people who had attempted to cross the checkpoint without a permit. We have not seen detainees like this for a long time.
Crossing continued slowly, and there were only a few people coming and going.
Reihan – Barta'a Checkpoint, 07:40 – 08:10
Here crossing was at its busiest time. The upper parking lot on the seamline zone side was busy and noisy, but it appeared that there were also fewer people here. There were four windows operating in the terminal and we observed that it took people 10 – 15 minutes to cross.
We took the names and details of several people who did not have proper permits and will try to take care of the problem.