‘Azzun ‘Atma, Eliyahu Crossing, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 7.2.13, Morning
Translator: Hanna K.
The aim of the tour was to demonstrate to the guests the infringement on the freedom of movement of the Palestinians, and thus to illustrate the activity of MachsomWatch.We arrived at the checkpoints at an hour when the number of Palestinians forced to pass through them was low. The winding separation fence and the gates installed in it, the Palestinian enclaves constricted between the bends or, alternately, the deployment of the settlements on hills and summit above the Palestinian villages are revealed when driving through the territories. But those who don't know the place, whether Israeli or not, cannot understand, without verbal interpretation of the things they see, the deep penetration of the occupation into the area.
09:00 – We began at the Azzun Atma CP on the road leading to the Elkana and Sha'arey Tikva settlements. As mentioned above very few people pass here. We were watching the CP when one of the soldiers claimed that this was a 'military zone'.
So how come the civilians pass here?" Nora asked. 'Yes, this is complicated' the soldier agreed and went away.
We left a few moments later anddrove in the direction of Elkana in order to see the house of Hany Amar, confined between fences, joined to the settlement. We went back to road no. 5 in order to reach the same point almost, as the separation obstruction blocks the road which was once a central traffic artery, and prevents free passage, from the direction of the village of Mes'ha where Hany Amar is resident.
We drove on the winding by-passing road, which also passes by the entrance to the industrial area of Barkan, where, judging by the number plates of the cars parked outside it, many workers in the industrial area are Palestinians, 'for the glory of economic independence' of Israel; we continued through what once was the Karwat Bany Husan CP. On roads on which mainly Palestinians travel the pitfalls are many and there are no margins; we arrived at the end of Mes'ha.
The guests watched the concrete wall which was put up so that it would block from the Amar family the sunlight, but not for the residents of Elkana settlement;They watched the gate which only the Amar family is authorized to enter and leave by; The guests couldn't, of course, believe their eyes and were absolutely amazed when they grasped that the distance from the 'state of Hani Abu Amar' to the Azzunt Atma CP in a straight line is very short. But there is no Palestinian who is allowed to walk on that way.
From there we returned, on the same way we came, to road no. 5 and went to the Za'tara CP. We pointed to the metal arms which, when the so army wishes, they block by them the passage from villages such as Zeita, to the main road.
11:10 Za'tara – on the parking lot the are dogs and women-soldier dog trainers. Palestinian cars travelling from north to south are being checked. When we passed there were three cars in the queue.
12:00 Huwwara CP –the buildings are abandoned, including the 'women's checking cubicle' (the signpost is still there), The fences surrounding them testify to the hundreds and thousands of people who were forced to stand in queue in order to be able to leave Nablus. Today the cars pass without being stopped or checked.
Our guests saw all this, and as they ate falafel and shuarma on the day before at Tel Aviv, they were given the opportunity to learn about the price gaps between Tel Aviv and Huwwara.
When we passed Kedumim settlement we showed them the places where the settlers try to take over the plots; we told them in short the story of the village of Izbat Tabib and the fact that its residents are refugee from the area of today's Ra'anana.
On the way back we passed the Eliyahu passage CP, and there we underwent the checking of ID cards and passports.
'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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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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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.
Shoshi AnbarSep-27-2023Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
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