Tura checkpoint: The absurd checkpoint
14:40-16:15
Route 611: Hole in the separation barrier close to the Palestinian village Qeiquis.
A woman and three laborers return to the West Bank from Israel through a hole in the fence. One man comes out of the village to a car that is waiting for him in the parking area below the village. Based on the number of cars parked close to the village, more and more people are using this quick and short transit route.
Tura checkpoint: 15:05
A ridiculous checkpoint. The checkpoint has electric barriers, inspection points, watchtowers, turnstiles, and traffic lights, but as usual, the checkpoint is dirty and quiet. Close to the main gate, where the soldiers are positioned, there’s a large hole in the fence and people pass through it in the early hours before the soldiers arrive. Two laborers and three Palestinian cars – one with children in it – cross the army checkpoint without delay.
In the mornings (before 8:00), the checkpoint is used by no more than 50 laborers (!), teachers, and students on their way to study (in Jenin) and work, and even for them, in most cases, the checkpoint does not open on time.
On the way to the Ya’abed-Dotan checkpoint, via the bridge which passes over the road to Tulkarm, there is an army car and police car (it is unclear to us why they are there). At the checkpoint itself, on the road to Jenin, vehicles pass in both directions, mainly towards Jenin. Beside the road is a Hannukah menorah placed by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Barta’a checkpoint, 15:30
The parking lots are full. A woman with three toddlers is crossing the checkpoint without a car, from the West Bank to Barta’a. A lot of vehicles arrive at the upper parking lot with laborers returning home to the West Bank from work in Israel and the seamline zone. The younger ones jump over the barrier and take a shortcut to avoid the long walk down the fenced-in sleeve
. While many workers do return via the military checkpoint, a large number prefer the quick and short route through the hole in the fence.
The owner of the kiosk confirms the situation and complains that the hole in the fence is robbing him of his income due to the small number of people passing through the checkpoint. The visitor (almost a regular) once again comments how degrading the passage through the checkpoint is.
We went into the new, recently built toilets, for the first time. There was no water in the sink (the faucet does not open) and the bowl has no flushing mechanism, and everything was flooded with filth.