Barta'a-Reihan, Ya'bed-Dotan

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Ruthi T, Hassida Sh, (photographs), Translation: Bracha B.A.

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Dec-29-2013

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Morning

Shaked – Tura Checkpoint 07:00 – 07:30
(photos: Children arriving at the checkpoint and crossing through the sleeve info-icon )

The checkpoint is open and empty. Three cars are parked next to the garbage contained: one is ours and the other two have Israeli yellow license plates and belong to Arab drivers.

An army jeep drives out of the checkpoint that had appeared empty and a woman soldier emerges. She puts her hand through the fencing of the pedestrian sleeve and closes the lock from inside as is to say "Don't dare enter" but anyone who wants can put their hand through, open the lock and go in. I met this same soldier several weeks ago when she forbade me to purchase olive oil from a Palestinian farmer in his grove. At the time she claimed that the sale was illegal and that she would cancel his permit to enter his olive grove. .

A few minutes later a military vehicle arrived that looked like a prisoner transport vehicle and soldiers emerged. Within two minutes the generator began to hum and workers from the West Bank began to emerge, happy and smiling. Today the machine is working well and people can cross quickly. At the same time two armed soldiers walk down to the two cars parked next to the garbage container. They check the blue Israeli ID cards. Evidently the drivers are waiting for people who have come from the West Bank. Everything is done with smiles and politeness. How little one has to do to please people who have lived their entire lives under occupation! For us this is not sufficient. The school children arrive from the nearby village of Dahar Al Malakh.

Reihan – Barta'a Checkpoint 08:05 – 08:15

We descended to the lower parking lot where we met A., Ali's cousin, who underwent an operation on his foot and consequently did not go to Rambam Hospital. He is a resident of Yaabed. He explained that he has slept in his car for three days because the road to Yaabed has been closed and no one can drive through because people have been throwing rocks on the road. A. makes his living driving to Jenin and back and tells us that there is a taxi strike in Jenin. .

We decided to drive to the Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint to see what is going on there.

Yaabed – Dotan Checkpoint 08:25 – 08:50

The checkpoint is empty, but we hear voices from the nearby pillbox. Cars are passing through freely that are going to and from Jenin. There is no traffic from Yaabed. We attempted to observe the entrance road to Yaabed from the checkpoint. We saw cars coming from Jenin to Yaabed and cars coming from the Yaabed road going towards Jenin There were no cars that arrived at the checkpoint from Yaabed. We asked drivers if they had seen anyone coming from Yaabed and learned nothing.

We observed that like water that encounters a stone or other obstacle, and continues to flow around it, life in Palestine continues despite the checkpoints, hardships, and obstacles.

Reihan – Barta'a Checkpoint, 09:00 – 09:15

This time we parked at the upper end of the sleeve and went to look at the new architectural structure there. People are complaining that the exit from the sleeve is close to the restrooms and the men come out while still zipping up their pants. This is extremely unpleasant for women who are going through the sleeve and passing by. Women who wish to use the restrooms have to pass by the men's toilets, and the men don't always bother to close the doors. A taxi driver complained to R., the checkpoint commander, several times without results. We called R., and suggested that the entrance to the sleeve be moved down near the pedestrian crossing away from the rest rooms. He promised to deal with the matter. We will wait and see.

Location Description

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)