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‘Awarta, ‘Izbet alTabib, Habla, Habla Checkpoint (1393), Huwwara

Observers: Nina S., Herzliya A., Ziona S. (reporting); Translator: Hanna K.
Mar-20-2016
| Afternoon

A military policewoman conducts the Habla gate tyrannically, imperviously and rudely. Not only is the gate opened with a delay of 13 minutes, she also locks it 10 minutes before time. The movement of her hand signals to those who are seen approaching and are already at a distance of 30 meters from the gate at the time of closing – that the gate is locked, no matter whether it is a young man or an old one, or parents with a baby. Within seconds the people reach the gate, but it isn't opened for them. Now they have to look for somebody who will drive them to the Eliyahu Gate. Either they will find such a driver or not. The occupation at its ugliest.

 

In view of the last reports we decided to begin our tout at the Huwwara CP.

 

15:00 Tapuah Intersection – the passage is free. Soldiers stand behind the concrete barricades at the hitch hike stations at both directions, to ensure the settlers waiting for a hike.

 

Huwwara – Awarta

15:10 The Huwwara CP is open for vehicles only.  The entrance is free and the vehicles stream inside. The Awarta CP is open both for exit and entry. At the exit soldiers stand behind concrete barricades at two points. From time to time they stop a vehicle and check the papers. The traffic at the exit from the CP proceeds heavily and slowly. Private cars,  many taxis and also vehicles belonging to Israeli Palestinians.  A policewoman from the blue police turns to us in a friendly manner, she was summoned because of an accident between an Israeli vehicle and a Palestinian one. She asks us to turn to her if we feel it is necessary.

 

Izbat Tabib

15:45 – On out way to Habla we went to Izbat Tabib, in order to buy olive oil from our friend M. He was not at home, but his small son brought us the bottles. We saw the pretty building of the school, in the village but there is a destruction order pending against it, because it was built on the C area. It seems that in the opinion of the Government of Israel, the children of Izbat Tabib don't have the right to learn in a school. An enlightened occupation indeed.

 

Habla 1391

According to the information we possess, the opening hours are 16:30-17:10. The soldiers arrived at 16:40 only. In the meantime about 50 men and one woman were already waiting at the entrance. Meanwhile, for the sake of efficiency, one of the waiting people collects the papers, in order to hand a group of papers over together.  At 16:43 the gate is opened at last. The checking of the papers is carried out in a shed outside and not in the booth. I raised the phone in order to photograph the people entering the CP and suddenly a shriek was heard from the military policewoman. "it is forbidden to photograph…don't you hear?" An officer who begins to talk with us is reprimanded by her, and obeys her. The soldiers let the people pass in groups of five. In the meantime more people arrive. Hay carts, tenders and trucks. All in all about 60 people entered. At 17:00 sharp the military policewoman locks the gate. From a distance of about 30 meters another worker arrives, and behind him a number of people. The military policewoman signals him that the gate is locked. He arrives within seconds, and behind him  a number of other people, including a family with a baby. A total of 12 people. We ask her to open the gate for them. After all the hour of closure hasn't yet arrived. The gate was open only 17 minutes.  The reaction: "who are you!", "go to your friends!" and more revilements galore. N. calls the humanitarian center and is transferred to the DCO.  They call the policewoman and tells us that she says that one locks at 17:00. This does not coincide with what is known to us, but even if it is true, whey can't she wait another minute and enable those people to enter? Are they to blame for the fact that we built the fence to the east of their plots? – the soldiers departed and the people remained outside, including the crying baby. Now they will search for somebody with a vehicle who would take them to the Eliyahu CP. Perhaps they will find somebody, perhaps they won't.  Strength and the control of civilians' lives are a natural habitat for the loss of humanness. 

  • 'Awarta

    See all reports for this place
    • 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.
      מחסום עווארתא ריק
      Ronit Dahan-Ramati
      Apr-23-2026
      Awarta Checkpoint is empty
  • 'Izbet a-Tabib

    See all reports for this place
    • 'Izbet a-Tabib
  • Habla

    See all reports for this place
    • 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
  • Habla CP (1393)

    See all reports for this place
    • 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

    See all reports for this place
    • 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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      חווארה: הבתים הישנים בשטח סי
      Shoshi Anbar
      May-18-2025
      Huwara: The old houses in Area C
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