Barta'a

Infobox Settlement
official_name=Barta'a


imagesize=
image_caption=
native_name=برطعة
meaning=
established_date=
settlement_type=Town
subdivision_type= Territory |subdivision_name = Palestinian territories/Israel |subdivision_type1=Governorate/District |established_title= |unit_pref=Dunam |timezone=IST |utc_offset =+2 |timezone_DST=IDT |utc_offset_DST=+3
other_name=
subdivision_name1=Jenin/Haifa
latd=32|latm=28|lats=27.90|latNS=N
longd=35 |longm=05|longs=31.69|longEW=E
population_total=8,300
population_as_of=2006
area_total_dunam=4320
area_total_km2=4.3
leader_name=
pushpin_

latd=32 |latm=28 |lats=27.90 |latNS=N |longd=35 |longm=05 |longs=31.69 |longEW=E

Barta'a ( _ar. برطعة, _he. בַּרְטַּעָה) is a town that straddles both sides of the Green Line in the Wadi Ara region.

Western Barta'a is in the Haifa District of Israel, and forms part of the Basma local council. Its 4,700 residents are Arab citizens of Israel.cite web|title=There's no EKG - but there is reflexology|author=Vered Lee|date=2007-02-19|accessdate=05.11.2007|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824565.html]

Eastern Barta'a is in the Palestinian territories in the northern part of the Jenin Governorate of the West Bank in what was designated under the Oslo Accords Area C. It has 3,600 residents, of whom 30-40 percent carry Israeli identity cards and the rest of whom carry Palestinian identity cards. [ [http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop01.aspx Projected Mid -Year Population for Jenin Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006] Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics] [cite web|title=Military orders to demolish 72 commercial shops and houses in East Barta'a|publisher=Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem (ARIJ)|date=2003-01-21|accessdate=05.11.2007|url=http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=213]

eparation, reunification and separation

It was after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that the village of Barta'a was divided by the 1949 armistice into eastern and western parts. The western part fell under Israeli control, while the eastern part fell under Jordanian control. From 1949 to 1967, travel between the two halves was practically impossible.

Following the 1967 Six Day War, Israel took control of the West Bank and the two parts of the town were informally reunited, operating as one municipal unit. Since most of the residents in both parts of the town belong to the same extended family, the de facto "reunification" was viewed positively by town residents.

Barta'a enclave

After the 2003 construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier, Eastern Barta'a found itself located in a closed military zone, an area between the Green Line and the barrier known as the Seam Zone.cite web|title=Indepth Middle East:Israel's Barrier|author=Margarat Evans|publisher=CBC|date=2006-01-06|accessdate=05.11.2007|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast/israel_barrier.html]

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has noted that since the building of the separation barrier, Eastern Barta'a is part of a totally enclosed enclave with two restricted entry/exit gates to rest of the West Bank: Barta'a and Shaked. cite web|title=UNRWA Profile: Barta'a Sharqiya Enclave|publisher-UNRWA|date=June 2005|url=http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/barrier/profiles/bartaa.html] Since the introduction of the seam zone gate and permit system in October 2003, inhabitants of the Barta'a enclave have been designated "long-term residents" and must have a permit to live in and to enter and leave the enclave.cite web|title=Case Study:UNRWA's access to Barta'a enclavedisrupted by IDF restrictions|author=Operations Support Officer Programme|publisher=UNRWA|date=2005-02-14|accessdate=05.11.2007|url=http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/barrier/case_studies/bartaa_feb2005.pdf] Every person who wants to enter the enclave must also apply for a permit.

Eastern Barta'a (Barta'a ash-Sharqiyya) is the largest town in the Barta'a enclave which also includes the Palestinian villages of Um ar-Rehan, Khirbet 'Abdallah al-Yunis, Khirbet Ash-Sheikh Sa'eed, Khirbet al-Muntar al-Gharbiya, Khirbet al-Muntar ash-Sharqiyya, and Dhaher al-Malik.cite web|title=Case Study: UNRWA's access to Barta'a enclave disrupted by IDF restrictions|author=Operations Support Officer Programme West Bank|publisher=United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)|date=2005-02-14|accessdate=2007-08-28|url=http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/barrier/case_studies/bartaa_feb2005.pdf] There are no checkpoints to the west, but "long-term residents" of the Barta'a enclave, most of whom do not have Israeli citizenship, face fines if they leave the enclave to venture into Israel.

Shaked gate is only open for a few minutes in the morning and at lunchtime, allowing children from the villages of Daher al-Mahler and Um ar-Rehan to school in a near-by village. All those over age 12 over must have a permit to pass through the Shaked gate.

UNRWA reported in October 2005 that its

"relief and other humanitarian efforts have been no exception to IDF restrictions. Since the completion of the wall/fence in the Barta’a area, UNRWA staff members have faced delays, abuse and intimidation at the gates of the enclave on a number of occasions. Since 1 October, access for UNRWA’s staff members has been denied for lack of permit to be inside the enclave, designated 'seam zone' by the Israeli government. The official reason being that after the gate, there are no more checkpoints before entering Israel. Thus the enclave is effectively de facto annexed to Israel a fact not lost on Israeli Defense Force soldiers who consistently refer to the enclave as 'Israel'."

In 2005, a new Israeli Defense Force District Coordinators Office opened within a new gate complex at Barta'a. According to UNRWA, it appears to be permanent infrastructure, including metal detectors and shelters.

For non-'long term residents', access through the Shaked gate has become more and more restricted. UNRWA cites the examples of women from Barta'a who have married and live outside the enclave are not able to visit their families there and workers who live east of the fence in the West Bank who are unable to get into the enclave to work.

ee also

*Hafrada (Separation)
*West Bank closures
*Seam Zone
*Israeli West Bank barrier
*Wadi Ara

References

External links

* [http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/barrier/profiles/bartaa.html UNRWA Profile of Barta'a Sharqiya Enclave]
* [http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2002/07/11/wall/index.html Salon article on Barta'a entitled, "Another Brick in the Wall"]