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‘Azzun ‘Atma, Habla, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 21.10.13, Morning

Observers: Hanna A., Rahel A (reporting), Translator: Judith Green
Oct-21-2013
| Morning

 

Habla, on the road to the checkpoint of  'Azzun 'Atma

 

It has been a long time since I visited the checkpoints.  I looked at the gates and the fences and nothing had changed, other than the soldiers themselves.  Palestine went onto Winter Time a week ago, but the times mentioned in the report are Israel time.

 

Habla

07:00-08;15 – The checkpoint is open.  People go in by groups of five.  Outside  the checkpoint, 30-50 people are standing.  Every few minutes, a group of 5 enters  while the previous 5 are being checked, finish and go out the other side of the checkpoint.

 

A male and a female soldier are guarding the group so that they do not cross the inner gate.  One hears the female soldier constantly shouting at everyone.  Among those standing there a lot of arguments arise about their place in line.

 

We asked one of the people exiting what the argument was about and he said that they found a break in the fence, so there is more tension.  Meanwhile, a military vehicle arrived with senior officers, While they are in the area,  the entrance becomes quiet.  Even the female soldier calms down and explains the situation to her superiors.  They walk around.  They have weapons, rank, and, by chance, are quite tall.  After them, a jeep appears and more soldiers of high rank get out and walk around in the area.  The passage through continues as usual.  At 08;10 a bus comes through with students from Arab a Ramadin, from the direction of highway #55 toward the Habla checkpoint.  According to the driver, another bus was supposed to come through, but we didn't wait any longer.

 

Cars with permits cross through in both directions.  A horse and wagon go through; some of those arriving are on bicycles.  They leave them in the area of the checkpoint and return to stand in line for inspection.  After the inspection, they enter Israel or the seam area with the bicycles. There is very little traffic in general.  One of the workers whom we questioned said that about 1000 people go through daily, in his opinion.  Not during our shift.

 

From Habla to 'Azzun 'Atma

We traveled on highway #55 in the direction of Huwarra, by way of Funduq, Imatin, Qedumim, Jit.  We didn't see olive pickers.  Maybe they already finished in this area.  We entered 'Azzun to bring some second-hand things and to visit.

 

We would like to ask those traveling in a private car, and going through 'Azzun, and who are willing to bring some "equipment" to be in touch with us.  

There were hardly any military vehicles on the main road.

We return by way of Huwwara.  At the crossroad of Za'tara, the guard booths were not manned and there was free movement for all vehicles.

 

'Azzun 'Atma

We arrived at about 11;30.  The checkpoint was open, but there was no activity in the area.

  • '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

       

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      Apr-11-2019
      Azoun: The main entrance to village blocked now for several weeks
  • 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.

       

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      Apr-25-2025
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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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  • Za'tara (Tapuah)

    See all reports for this place
    • 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.  
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