‘Azzun ‘Atma, Eliyahu Crossing, Habla, Tue 31.7.12, Afternoon
We drove to Azzun Atma in the wake of a report in the Arabic press that the road to a well which had been in use until two weeks ago had been closed.
10:45
Eliyahu crossing. Traffic flows through the checkpoint with no delays. Two cars in the “Authorized Palestinian Vehicles” lane being inspected, trunk open.
We drove via Azzun, Kafr Thult, Beit Amin to Azzun Atma’s northern entrance. Almost no vehicles or people along the way. The oppressive heat and Ramadan have apparently kept most people home.
[3 photos: the northern entrance to Azzun Atma]
We meet the secretary of the municipality, Abed Karim Ayoub at the municipal building. He tells us that two weeks ago the IDF blocked access to the well and to agricultural land with a long fence and concertina wire. Initially there was not gate; as of yesterday, there is one.
We decide to drive to the well at the southwestern edge of the village, accompanied by the children of a man we met opposite the municipal building as our guides. It’s not really a road; just a stony dirt track.
[Photos: The closed gate.
Hani ]
Hani Hamer, a farmer who’s in charge of the well, comes toward us.
When the fence and concertina wire were installed, without a gate, Hani telephoned the UN and the Red Cross. As a result of their efforts, as of yesterday there’s a new gate.
12:15
The soldiers at the checkpoint open the gate and we ask to go through for a few minutes.
Hamer says: Before the fence was erected, everybody crossed the road where it was most convenient for them and reached their fields by the shortest route. Now the farmers must accommodate themselves to the hours the gate is open:
Morning 06:15 – 06:30
Afternoon 12:15 – 12:30
Evening 18:15 – 18:30
[Photos: The new concertina wire fence.
The gate to the well.
The well, behind the fence.
The new gate erected yesterday, flanked by concertina wire.]
The UN representatives who dealt with Hani’s complaint came yesterday to inspect the site.
[Photo Two UN representatives and their vehicle.]
We met the UN representatives, spoke with Hani, photographed the fence and the gate and hurried back to the checkpoint which is open for only 15 minutes. A surprise awaited us: we’re forbidden to enter Azzun Atma. The soldiers demanded our ID cards and we waited for the company commander whom they called to solve a tough problem at the checkpoint. Absolutely surreal. A few minutes earlier we’d crossed through the checkpoint, left the car 200 meters away, and we’re waiting for the commander in the oppressive heat. We were happy he drove up a few minutes later, heard our story and ordered the soldiers to allow us to return to Azzun Atma.
We weren’t able to find out the hours the new gate is open. We believe it’s closed; the soldier says it’s open.
12:40
Back to the burning car. Again we had to drive via Kafr Thult and Azzun to Highway 55 because there’s no access to Highway 5 even though it’s very near.
13:15
Eliyahu crossing. No vehicles in the inspection area.
13:25
Habla. The gate is open. A solitary car leaves the village, a Palestinian with a horse cart enters. Everyone arriving crosses quickly.
A brief stop at the plant nursery to buy spice seedlings, then back to Tel Aviv.
'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
Apr-11-2019Azoun: The main entrance to village blocked now for several weeks
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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.
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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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