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‘Anabta, ‘Azzun, ‘Azzun ‘Atma, Habla, Huwwara, Te’enim Crossing

Observers: Dina K., Karin L. (reporting) Translator: Charles K.
Nov-19-2013
| Afternoon

 

The purpose was to acquaint Dina with our activities in the central region.  We stopped at many locations for explanations.

 

10:40  Azzun Atma. 

Six Palestinian employees of a quarry owned by a European company wait for their ride; they work on the second shift.  The soldiers say the gate closes at 9 PM and asked us not to photograph them.

 

11:00  Hani gate.

The bus with the Machsom Watch tour arrived while we were explaining.  Everyone was happy to meet.  We continued to Oranit.  There are still large holes in the fence along the road, but construction of the wall has progressed.    A wall, not a fence, is being built here, even though most of it doesn’t adjoin the locality but only the agricultural lands belonging to residents of Azzun Atma and Siniriyya.  We saw from Oranit that the entrance in the wall to the road to Tamar gate, which was open on our last visit, had been closed.

 

11:40  Back to Highway 5, through the Shomron checkpoint – traffic flowing smoothly in both directions.  Continuing via Ariel, apparently the longest town on earth, to Highway 60, then north.  Just before Za’tara junction a military vehicle and soldiers pass us travelling in the opposite direction, toward Jerusalem.  At the junction we continue toward Huwwara; the positions aren’t manned and traffic flows quickly in all directions.

 

12:20  Huwwara checkpoint.

The large red sign warning against entering “Palestinian territory” has been moved and now stands before the parking lot.  Traffic flowed in both directions.  We parked in the lot.  While explaining about the site’s history we heard voices from the tower; soldiers arrived immediately and asked what we were doing.  They pointed to concrete blocks forming a small structure in the plaza where they said a bomb disposal unit had blown up eight explosive devices they’d discovered in the bag of a terrorist who tried to cross on foot (which is forbidden) and planned to attack them.  We continued to the Beit Furiq checkpoint where we saw no soldiers.  We went through Jit junction to Highway 55 and west through Al Funduq while describing the locality’s difficulties, then through Eliyahu gate without stopping and on to Habla.

 

13:45  Habla.  A few people coming from Habla, as well as trucks with saplings.  A horse and cart wait for the driver to return from inspection.  The last people returning to the village manage to go through.

14:07  The soldiers close the gate and leave.

 

Back along Highway 55.  We stop at the large parking lot at the Eliyahu checkpoint to admire the spectacular landscaping and discover more additions.  The civilian security guards arrive immediately, explaining it’s a closed military area and taking pictures of the vegetation and the statues of bugs is prohibited for security reasons, like photographing the Dimona reactor.

 

We left two parcels for Z. in Azzun, then drove via Jayyous, Kafr Sur and Beit Lid to Highway 60   and Anabta checkpoint (where the red sign has also been moved forward a few dozen meters).  Then west past Shufa and out through the Te’anim checkpoint.

  • 'Anabta CP

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    • 'Anabta CP

      The checkpoint is located south of the village of 'Anabta, at the intersection of Road 60 (leading to Nablus at the entrance to Area A), with Road (57, 557, 5576) facing west towards the Einav settlement and the checkpoint at the exit from the West Bank - Figs checkpoint. Until 2010 we used to watch the intersection and report the long columns created due to a slow inspection of the vehicles in both directions.  
      Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11
      Oct-28-2011
      Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11
  • 'Azzun

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    • Azoun (updated February 2019)

      A Palestinian town situated in Area B (under civil Palestinian control and Israeli security control), 

      on road 5 between Nablus and Qalqiliya, east of Nabi Elias village. The inhabitants are allowed to construct and improve infrastructures. The Separation Fence has confiscated lands belonging to the town's people. In 2018 olive tree groves owned by one of its inhabitants were confiscated for the sake of paving a road to bypass Nabi Elias. Azoun population numbers 13,000, its economic state dire. Its infrastructures are poor, neglect and poverty rampant. In the meantime, the town council has completed paving an internal road for the inhabitants' welfare.

      Because of its proximity to the Jewish settler-colony of Karnei Shomron and its outposts, the town suffers the intense presence of the Israeli army, especially at nighttime: soldiers enter homes, arrest suspects, trash the house and sometimes ruin it, as they do in numerous places in the West Bank. At times a checkpoint closes the entrance to the town, so no one can come in or get out.

       

  • 'Azzun 'Atma

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    • 'Azzun 'Atma
      A Palestinian village of about 1,800 residents. The settlement of Sha'arei Tikva was established on its land adjacent to it, and the settlement of Oranit was established on its agricultural lands. By 2013, the separation fence had passed through the village and a checkpoint staffed by the army allowed the residents to cross from side to side. After building a massive wall surrounding the village and some of its agricultural lands, the residents went daily for five years to their lands that remained in the Seam Zone through the Oranit agricultural checkpoint (4). Since 2018 it has only  opened during the olive harvest and the farmers have to pass daily at the Beit Amin / Abu Salman checkpoint (1447), about 3 kilometers north.

      From a report from March 24, 2021: "The farmers from Beit Amin and Azon Atma are happy that since February 21 the Oranit checkpoint .is going to be open 3 times a day, The farmers are really developing the place."

      Report from July 14, 2024: "Ornit checkpoint is closed . The Beit Amin/Abu Salman agricultural checkpoint is closed (there is no contact with the military to check if it opens rarely), the Ezbat Jaloud checkpoint was opened once a day before the war.

      Updated for July 2024

       

      עזון: הכניסה הראשית לכפר עזון: חסומה כבר מספר שבועות
      Apr-11-2019
      Azoun: The main entrance to village blocked now for several weeks
  • Habla

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    • Habla CP (1393)

      The Habla checkpoint (1393) was established on the lands of the residents of Qalqilya, on the short road that

      connected it for centuries to the nearby town of Habla. The separation barrier intersects this road twice and cut off the residents of Qalqilya from their lands in the seam zone.(between the fence and the green line).
      There is a passage under Road 55 that connects Qalqilya to the sabotage This agricultural barrier is used by the farmers and nursery owners established along Road 55 from the Green Line and on both sides of the kurkar road leading to the checkpoint.
      This agricultural checkpoint serves the residents of Arab a-Ramadin al-Janoubi (detached from the West Bank), who pass through it to the West Bank and back to their homes. The opening hours (3 times a day) of this agricultural checkpoint are longer than usual, about an hour (recently shortened to 45 minutes), and are coordinated with the transportation hours of a-Ramadin children studying in the occupied in the West Bank.

       

      חבלה: השער בשלבי סגירה
      Nina Seba
      Aug-18-2025
      Habla: The gate is in the process of closing
  • 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)

      .
      חווארה: הבתים הישנים בשטח סי
      Shoshi Anbar
      May-18-2025
      Huwara: The old houses in Area C
  • Te'enim Crossing

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    • Te'enim Crossing The Figs checkpoint, located on Road 557, east of the Green Line and the Ephraim Checkpoint  (Road 444), is a vehicle crossing, open 24/7 all year round. It serves the Israeli population, including those authorized to enter the Palestinian Authority. The passage of foreigners holding international passports recognized by the State of Israel is approved. In exceptional cases will the passage of a Palestinian be allowed here.  
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