Awarta, Beit Furik, Habla, Huwwara, Jit, Tue 15.3.11, Afternoon
13:40 –
Habla gate. The school bus arrived. The soldiers checked the children’s permits and found one boy, about 11 years old, who didn’t have his original birth certificate (he had a photocopy) or a copy of his parents’ ID cards. He had to get off the bus and wasn’t allowed through. The driver tried to convince the soldiers to let him cross, but to no avail. After a while the bus went on with the rest of the children. A teacher remained behind with the boy.
We called the DCO who promised to take care of the problem. We called twice more while we waited.
The soldiers explained that every child must carry a valid permit (the boy had a permit), an original birth certificate and copies of his parents’ ID cards. They said that the DCO knows the rules; the boy also knows them, so he can’t go through. “He could be a terrorist!”
At 14:00 the soldiers wanted to close the gate and leave. An older man, acting on behalf of the boy, asked for the copy of the birth certificate which hadn’t been returned. The soldiers threw it in the garbage because “it’s illegal to carry photocopied documents; they can be forged, and in any case he can’t use it anywhere.” Now the soldiers and the older man began a discussion.
When the soldiers closed the gate and the boy and teacher returned to the eastern side, we urgently called the Humanitarian Office, and while we were talking with them the soldiers got a phone call, apparently from the DCO, and were ordered to release the boy. The checkpoint commander was very angry at the order and yelled at his superiors (“Fuck you…”), telling them it annoys him when he adheres to certain regulations and then they nullify his decisions.
Our discussion with the soldiers continued while the boy and his teacher walked toward the gate, both because they’d thrown away the photocopy and because the presence of Machsom Watch interfered with what they wanted to do. They promised that the next time we cross the line of the gate (which we hadn’t) they’ll arrest us, which they have the right to do. The boy was finally released; Petahya told him the soldiers promised us he wouldn’t be allowed to cross tomorrow without all the necessary documents.
Jit junction – a flying checkpoint. Only Israeli vehicles allowed through – Palestinian vehicles turned back.
15:10
Yitzhar junction – checkpoint. Palestinian vehicles aren’t allowed through.
15:30
Beit Furiq junction – The checkpoint is open; no soldiers on site. We entered Beit Furiq and asked a taxi driver whether there had been a checkpoint. He said one was there for two hours and then dismantled.
15:45
Huwwara checkpoint – no soldiers.
We drove into the village. Merchants told us that after 5 PM settlers on a bus (backed by soldiers) threw rocks at stores.
16:20
Awarta – Under curfew. No one enters or leaves. Soldiers at the eastern entrance prevent people from coming in or leaving. They tell us there’s a security alert according to which there are terrorists in Awwarta.
17:25 The Habla gate is open.
'Awarta
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Awarta, an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, is located east of the Hawara checkpoint, at the junction of Roads 555 (which was forbidden for Palestinian traffic in this area) and the entrance road to Nablus. It was one of the four checkpoints that surrounded Nablus until 2009. We used to watch it at Huwwara shifts because it was the only one where goods could be transferred to and from Nablus, using the back-to-back method. It was operated by the army, from 06:00 to 20:00. Until 2009.
Ronit Dahan-RamatiApr-23-2026Awarta Checkpoint is empty
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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)
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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.
Nina SebaAug-18-2025Habla: The gate is in the process of closing
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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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Shoshi AnbarMay-18-2025Huwara: The old houses in Area C
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Jit Junction
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The checkpoint is located on Route 60 near at the junction with Route 55, near the village of Jit. There was a checkpoint for vehicles passing between the north and south of the West Bank, which was abolished towards 2010. Since then, surprise checkpoints have been set up there from time to time with a police or Border Police vehicle, and vehicles and their passengers are inspected.
Anat PolakJul-17-2025Yitzhar Road, Jit Junction: traffic jam
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