‘Azzun ‘Atma, Thu 2.10.08, Afternoon
Translation: Miriam Vardi
16.35 We parked the car beside the road to Shaarei Tikva. We saw in the yard thpreparations are beginning for the olive harvest, as the weather here is warmer.
16.43 At the Checkpoint: On the pavement, where the soldiers are doing the checking, identity cards are strewn all over. The Commander of the Checkpoint explains that these
Belong to visitors who come for the day to Azzun Atma. These cards serve as “guarantees”. When the visitors return they will “easily” find their identity cards, on the floor.
Today the people passing through the checkpoint, mainly families, are dressed in
their best. Once in a while there is a line of 7 cars, but it quickly goes back to a
normal pace.
Two concessions were granted in Azzun Atma due to the Ramadan:
1. The gates were open 2 hours longer. Instead of closing at 22.00 they closed at
24.00.
2. Only today, from 11.00 till 22.00, visitors to Azzun Atma were allowed in without any special permit.
We would like to mention that the citizens had asked the DCO that at least during the last 3 days of the Holiday visitors would be allowed in, but the o.k. was deferred till the last day (today).
The hours of passage are usually from 05.00- 22.00, whereas between 22.00-05.00 it is considered “dangerous“ for civilians, and they need a special permit from the DCO. When we asked what should a women in labor do, we were told she would have to “hold back” till the morning.
Beside the Checkpoint a taxi driver is held up for 1½ hours as punishment for “misbehavior”.
Someone who is passing the gate complains that his bag was checked at the same time that his identity card was checked. Another complained that a soldier asked for a cigarette. We did not get any specific times when these incidents occurred (they did not occur whilst we were there.)
Pedestrians, who go into Azzun Atma, pass through a closed room. All pass through
X-rays. The commander at the checkpoint says that there is no danger of radiation from these machines, they are properly checked.
We wonder, however, if they are like the instruments in the shopping centers, why are they in closed rooms?
'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
Apr-11-2019Azoun: The main entrance to village blocked now for several weeks
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