Translation: Bracha B.A.

15:55 Reihan Barta’a

About 20 people are waiting in front of the turnstile. The seamstresses arrive at 16:10. Now there are 30 people waiting. Occasionally people go through in the opposite direction who have to make their way through the crowd. When the turnstile opens at 16:25 the people waiting become angry and begin shouting “Wahad, wahad” (one by one). We call Sharon, who promises to send someone. As usual, we apologize for bothering him. It would be much simpler if they would operate another window as a routine procedure during these busy hours.

At 16:26 there is a shift change in the only window that is operating. An officer from the Liaison and Coordination Administration who speaks Arabic arrives accompanied by two security guards. He behaves quietly and with respect and everyone listens and lines up. He reports by telephone that in his opinion there is no overcrowding, but at that moment it is becoming crowded and the officer promises us that they will immediately open another window, and that this is not always possible.

At 16:36 another window opens precisely when the line begins to disappear, and it is closed after 5 minutes.

At 16:52 there are 20 people waiting again, but people are now going through more quickly. A resident of Z’bada who can see the Barta’a Checkpoint from his home tells us the absurd story with which we are so familiar: he has to go through the checkpoint at Irtah in the morning and leaves home at 3:00 AM in order to get to work in Hadera at 8:00.

17:05 - On the way to the lower parking lot the gates info-icon

of the checkpoint where cars are checked are open in the direction of the road. There are no cars in the facility. A security guard looks the area over. There are a lot of cars waiting for workers in the lower parking lot. M.A., a farmer from Z’bada, whose land is on the other side of the checkpoint, complains that his permit has not been renewed. He needs to provide proof that he owns his land. A charismatic man who introduces himself as “Sami the Bedouin” asks us to acquire a wheelchair for a 60-year-old woman. I have their personal details.

17:45 – Shaked-Tura
Traffic is very light and is moving smoothly. We leave at 18:00.

S.A. reported by phone that last week there was a serious fight at the sewing factory in Barta’a. Scissors were drawn and her son was injured. At the end of the week a delegation of about 30 people, headed by the president of the Barta’a Regional Council, came to S.A.’s house in Yaabed and they held a sulha.

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).

Reihan, Shaked, Tue 4.8.09, Afternoon

Translation: Bracha B.A.

15:55 Reihan Barta’a

Tura-Shaked Checkpoint

The locked gate at the Anin checkpoint

Barta’a-Reihan Checkpoint

Reihan, Shaked, Tue 4.8.09, Afternoon

Translation: Bracha B.A. 15:55 Reihan Barta’a

The locked gate at the Anin checkpoint

Translation: Bracha B.A.

15:55 Reihan Barta’a