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‘Azzun ‘Atma, Habla, Huwwara, Tue 31.1.12, Afternoon

Observers: Observers: Petahya, Chana A., Nadim Translator: Charles K.
Jan-31-2012
| Afternoon

 

 

13:45  Habla

We arrived as the checkpoint was closing; there’s not much traffic at this hour.  At 2 PM a vehicle loaded with khubeiza came from the direction of the plant nurseries.  It was inspected on the road between the two fences and then continued to Habla.

14:04

  They closed the gate and we left.

 

14:30

We continued to Huwwara on Highway 60, between Jit junction and Burin/Yitzhar junction.  We saw from the road three military vehicles standing next to a school/public building in Madama.  We saw no one in the area other than soldiers.  Since there was no way to reach Madama directly from our location, we continued driving.

After turning onto Highway 57 we were almost forced off the road by a police car chasing a scooter bearing yellow license plates.  The two vehicles weaved between the many cars driving in both directions; it was a miracle there wasn’t an accident.

 

14:50  Huwwara

Soldiers at the checkpoint.  In response to our question they said they were ordered to descend from the tower  because the people on the scooter might try to reach Nablus.  Cars drive to and from Nablus without stopping.

 

15:25  Za’tara

The checkpoint is manned.  A police car parked next to one of the booths.  Vehicles aren’t being stopped.

 

15:50  Azzun Atma

A market is developing in the village, near the checkpoint.

When we arrived there was a line of about 30 people waiting to return home after a work-day in the settlements, construction, maintenance and manufacturing goods to help the Israeli economy grow.  People were inspected one-by-one.  A couple of minutes later they started checking two at a time, but more and more people arrived and the line grew longer.  And as the line lengthened, and the day drew to a close, it grew colder and colder.  One man poured out the bitterness in his heart at the situation, criticizing the Palestinian politicians willing to negotiate with Israel while it continues to build and expand the settlements.  We shouldn’t think the Palestinians are anxious to have jobs working for Israel.  They work for Israelis because they don’t have a choice.

Petahya called the humanitarian office twice, and once to Chana B. as well, but things weren’t going any faster by the time we left.

 

A phenomenon that repeats itself at this checkpoint:  vehicles transporting laborers to the checkpoint carry more passengers than is permitted.  Not only that, but the vehicle starts driving off before all the passengers have gotten out, and they have to jump out while it’s moving.

 

16:46  We left.

  • '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
  • 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.

       

      מחסום חבלה: מערכת שערים
      Ronit Dahan-Ramati
      Apr-25-2025
      Habla Checkpoint: system of gates
  • 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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      May-18-2025
      Huwara: The old houses in Area C
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