‘Azzun ‘Atma, Thu 19.11.09, Morning
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‘Azzun ‘Atma
A new army unit, new, stricter rules. 06:20 There is a longer line than usual recently in the fenced passage where the laborers wait to exit ‘Azzun ‘Atma. Two soldiers manning the checkpoint stand on the side under the awning that has been re-erected and leave the inspections to the female MP’s seated in the cube. They tell us they’re a new unit, Kfir, I think, and those are their instructions. Only the MP at the computer terminal checks the ID’s, and they provide security. The fact that the fenced passage is crowded with people waiting doesn’t bother them at all. They’re very worried that a Palestinian who isn’t permitted to enter Israel, who’s been flagged by the computer, might get by them. The fact that until a few months ago there wasn’t even a checkpoint here, or that in the previous unit which had been on duty here all the soldiers took part in the inspections – has nothing to do with them. Those are their orders. One of the laborers exiting the fenced passage told us that it’s more crowded in the evening, and that it might take as long as three hours to go through because the soldiers wait until the MP’s ascertain that the person returning is in fact the one who left in the morning.
In the morning we telephoned DCO Qalqilya (Efraim) and the humanitarian office, but to no avail. They said those are the orders that the soldiers received from the commanders of the new unit. They said the DCO has no influence over inspection policy.
'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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