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‘Azzun ‘Atma, Beit Iba, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Tue 23.2.10, Morning

Observers: Nataly and Ruth
Feb-23-2010
| Morning

Azzun Atma – 07:20 – Southern Passage

6 workmen are waiting for their employers to come and collect them to work. There are 5 soldiers, one of them is a reservist (the Palestinian with whom we talked said that they behave better). Again we hear that the Northern Passage (1.5 kms further on, on the other side of the village, serves the neighboring villages) is the problematic one. There they transfer people slowly, thee is a long queue, much pressure etc. Again we didn't get to that passage.

Zatara – 08:00

We pass in the direction of Huwwara without delay, and so it goes from the other side too.

Huwwara – 08:30

There is a border police jeep in the middle of the village, the doors are open, the firearms are held and there is a lot of self-importantce. Even when passing quickly one can feel clearly who the master is.

At the CP there is checking in both directions – for those entering and those leaving Nablus.

We don't see delays. There are random checks and a lively traffic.

Today the soldiers see us and show absolutely no interest, although we don't behave differently than we did two weeks ago, when they attacked us, threatened and delayed us.

Deir Sharaf (Barrels) – Beit Iba

There is nothing, as usual since quite a long time.

  • 'Azzun 'Atma

    See all reports for this place
    • '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
  • Beit Iba

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    • A perimeter checkpoint west of the city of Nablus. Operated from 2001 to 2009 as one of the four permanent checkpoints closing on Nablus: Beit Furik and Awarta to the east and Hawara to the south. A pedestrian-only checkpoint, where MachsomWatch volunteers were present daily for several hours in the morning and afternoon to document the thousands of Palestinians waiting for hours in long queues with no shelter in the heat or rain, to leave the district city for anywhere else in the West Bank. From March 2009, as part of the easing of the Palestinian movement in the West Bank, it was abolished, without a trace, and without any adverse change in the security situation.  
      Beit-Iba checkpoint 22.04.04
      Neta Efroni
      Jun-4-2014
      Beit-Iba checkpoint 22.04.04
  • 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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      חווארה: הבתים הישנים בשטח סי
      Shoshi Anbar
      May-18-2025
      Huwara: The old houses in Area C
  • Za'tara (Tapuah)

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    • Za'tara (Tapuah) Za'tara is an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, at the intersection of Road 60 and Road 505 (Trans-Samaria), east of the Tapuah settlement. This checkpoint is the "border" marked by the IDF between the north and south of the West Bank, in accordance with the policy of separation between the two parts of the West Bank that has been in place since December 2005. At the Za'tara checkpoint, there are separate routes for Israelis and Palestinians. In the route for Israelis, there are no inspections and the route for Palestinians inspects. The queue lengthens and shortens suits. The checkpoint is open 24 hours a day. The checkpoint is partially staffed and the people who pass through it are checked at random.  
      זעתרא (צומת תפוח). שלטים
      Shoshi Anbar
      Sep-27-2023
      Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
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