Barta'a-Reihan, Ya'bed-Dotan

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ami Rituv, Photos, Neta Golan, Reporting Translation: Bracha Ben-Avraham

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Apr-12-2018

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Morning

Tura – Shaked Checkpoint – Regards from Springtime

Tura – Shaked Checkpoint – Regards from Springtime

Photo:

Tami Ritov

מחסום ברטעה: גפן מטפסת

Photo:

Tami Ritov

It was Holocaust Remembrance Day, so the flags at Barta'a Checkpoint were at half mast. A pomegranate was flowering on the other side of the fence as well as roses and bunches of unripe grapes.

06:00 - Barta'a Checkpoint, Palestinian Side

The line of Palestinian workers was not particularly long and did not fill the shed, but the line was not moving. The turnstile was closed but opened after a few minutes and people began entering the terminal. People were praying in the second shaded area. The construction of the two sheds was not progressing.

14 small trucks loaded with merchandise were waiting in front of the vehicle inspection facility. Other trucks were waiting in the parking lot. One of the drivers told us that the facility works from 08:00 – 14:00, but even if a car arrives at 17:00 it is still checked.

06:30 – Yaabed Dotan Checkpoint

The checkpoint was not manned. Cars were being held up because of the concrete blocks on the road and the gate blocks the dirt road running alongside.

There were Israeli flags flying along the road and on the pillboxes next to it. Independence Day is approaching.

The children from the village of Emricha were waiting for their ride to school. There are no sidewalks along the road running through the village. The shoulders of the road are narrow and it is dangerous for the children to walk.

06:50 – Barta'a - Reihan Checkpoint, Seamline Zone Side

There were a lot of workers waiting for rides to work. Six inspection windows were open in the terminal. People were coming out quickly and buckling their belts. Many bought coffee and cakes at the kiosk belonging to the settler. There were lush flowers growing on the other side of the fence.

There is a big difference in the amount of cleaning and maintenance between the seamline zone side of the checkpoint and the Palestinian side. We hope that when the new sheds and awnings are finished on the Palestinian side that it will be better cleaned and maintained.

07:10 – Tura Shaked Checkpoint

The checkpoint was open and someone told us it had opened at 06:00. There were few cars or pedestrians crossing. According to one of the people crossing, the efficiency depends upon the soldier in charge. "100 people could cross in ten minutes, or it could take ten people an hour and a half to cross."

A group of very young friendly laughing girls arrived. Unfortunately we could not chat with them because we don't speak Arabic. The garbage container was overflowing and there was litter scattered around it. The area around it is covered with poppies and other wild flowers in contract to the fence.

We left at 07:40. Teachers who work in the school in Um A Reihan who live on the other side of the fence were going to work.

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)