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Beit Furik, Eliyahu Crossing, Huwwara, Shomron Crossing, Sun 27.10.13, Morning

Observers: Ana S., Tamar S., Rachel, Tamar S., Aliyah S. (reporting)
Oct-27-2013
| Morning
09:30  We entered the territories through the Shomron Gate. Everything was quiet and normal. At 09:35 I received a telephone call from a Palestinian friend. He didn't know that I was in Palestine that morning and, perhaps he wanted to ask me something. But we hardly talked for 30 seconds when he said, "A soldier here at Za'atra is telling me not to talk on the phone! What law is there that says that I cannot talk on my telephone?!"  Then I heard some noise and the phone went dead. I tried to call him back but his telephone didn't respond.
We drove through Kifl Harith, Qira, Jama'in and 'Einabus. We were hoping to find families harvesting olives, but we could see that in that area the harvesting was over.
Then I got another call from my friend. Here's his story: "The soldier didn't just tell me to stop talking on my phone, he hit my hand so that the phone fell to the ground. Then he took the phone, my ID card, and the papers that were in my hand. He told me to come with him into the center area and to stand there. After waiting for a few minutes an officer came up to me and began to ask me questions about why I was there. I told him the story. He called the soldier over, told him to return my telephone, ID card, and papers. He told the soldier that it was very impolite of him to hit my hand in order to take my phone from me and that there is nothing wrong with a Palestinian talking on his phone. Then he told me I was free to go. Now I'm on my way to my work in Salfit."  We were happy to hear that there are officers who educate their soldiers to treat the Palestinians in a fair and humane way.
Huwwara checkpoint was the same as always. We saw one soldier walking to the watchtower by the road into and out of Nablus. Another soldier was in the guard tower at the turn to Beit Furik. But we saw no other activity; all was normal, as usual. We went to the entrance to Beit Dajan. The valley was empty, a yellow-brown color. All creatures, animals and humans, are waiting for rain so that a new growing season can begin. We saw a military jeep at the entrance to Burin, but no activity.
We left the territories through the Eliyahu Gate.

  • Beit Furik checkpoint

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    • One of the three internal checkpoints that closed on the city of Nablus - Beit Furik to the east, Hawara to the south, Beit Iba to the west. The checkpoint is located at the junction of Roads 557 (an apartheid road that was forbidden for Palestinians), leading to the Itamar and Alon Morea settlements and Road 5487. The checkpoint was established in 2001 for pedestrians and vehicles; The opening hours were short and the transition was slow and very problematic.
      Allegedly, the checkpoint is intended to monitor the movement to and from Nablus of the residents of Beit Furik and Beit Dajan, being the only opening outside their villages. Since May 2009 the checkpoint is open 24 hours a day, the military presence is limited, vehicles can pass through it without inspections, except for random inspections. (Updated April 2010)
  • Eliyahu CP (109) / Crossing

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    • Eliyahu CP (109) / Crossing This checkpoint, also known as the Fruit Crossing, is one of the main checkpoints between Israel and the West Bank. It is located on Route 55 between Alfei Menashe and the turn to Qalqilya and Zufin, more than 4 km east of the Green Line, in the separation fence, which separates Qalqilya from its lands to the south, thus leaving Alfei Menashe West of the fence - the Seam Zone. This checkpoint, a few kilometers across the Green Line, is intended for "Israeli settlement in the West Bank and the population of the Seam Zone." It is managed by a civil company. Palestinians with a special permit for their lands in the seam area are also allowed to pass through it, on foot, and sometimes by car.  
  • Huwwara

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    • The Huwwara checkpoint is an internal checkpoint south of the city of Nablus, at the intersection of Roads 60 and 5077 (between the settlements of Bracha and Itamar). This checkpoint was one of the four permanent checkpoints that closed on Nablus (Beit Furik and Awarta checkpoints to the east and the Beit Iba checkpoint to the west). It was a pedestrian-only barrier. As MachsomWatch volunteers, we watched therre  since 2001  two shifts a day -  morning and noon, the thousands of Palestinians leaving Nablus and waiting for hours in queues to reach anywhere else in the West Bank, from the other side of the checkpoint the destination could only be reached by public transport. In early June 2009, as part of the easing of Palestinian traffic in the West Bank, the checkpoint was opened to vehicular traffic. The passage was free, with occasional military presence in the guard tower.  Also, there were vehicle inspections from time to time. Since the massacre on 7.10.2023, the checkpoint has been closed to Palestinians.

      On February 26, 2023, about 400 settlers attacked the town's residents for 5 hours and set fire to property, such as houses and cars. Disturbances occurred in response to a shooting of two Jewish residents of Har Bracha by a Palestinian Terrorist. The soldiers stationed in the town did not prevent the arson and rescued Palestinian families from their homes only after they were set on fire. No one was punished and Finance Minister Smotrich stated that "the State of Israel should wipe out Hawara." Left and center organizations organized solidarity demonstrations and support actions for the residents of Hawara.

      Hawara continued to be in the headlines in all the months that followed: more pogroms by the settlers, attacks by Palestinians and  a massive presence of the army in the town. It amounted to a de facto curfew of commerce and life in the center of the city. On October 5, 2023, MK Zvi established a Sukkah in the center of Hawara and hundreds of settlers backed the army blocked the main road and held prayers in the heart of the town all night and the next day. On Saturday, October 7, 23 The  "Swords of Iron" war began with an attack by Hamas on settlements surrounding Gaza in the face of a poor presence of the IDF. Much criticism has been made of the withdrawal of military forces from the area surrounding Gaza and their placement in the West Bank, and in the Hawara and Samaria region in particular, as a shield for the settlers who were taking over and rioting.

      On November 12, 2023, the first section of the Hawara bypass road intended for Israeli traffic only was opened. In this way, the settlers can bypass the road that goes through the center of Hawara, which is the main artery for traffic from the Nablus area to Ramallah and the south of the West Bank. For the construction of the road, the Civil Administration expropriated 406 dunams of private land belonging to Palestinians from the nearby villages. The settlers are not satisfied with this at the moment, and demand to also travel through Hawara itself in order to demonstrate presence and control.

      (updated November 2023)

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  • Shomron Crossing

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    • Shomron Crossing The Shomron checkpoint for vehicles. is located east of Rosh HaAyin and Kafr Qassem, on Road 5 (Trans-Samaria) leading to Ariel and the Za'atara junction. It is intended for blue ID cardholders, foreign guests or diplomats, and international organizations only. In 2009 the management was entrusted to a civil security company.  
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