‘Azzun ‘Atma, Wed 27.5.09, Afternoon
We arrived at the checkpoint at 1800 and stayed about 20 minutes.
The checkpoint was quiet and few people crossed while we were there.
Following the incident of the cement factory owner two weeks ago and Daphne’s advice we decided to try and walk through the checkpoint into Azzun Atma. The soldiers allowed us to enter and didn’t even ask for our identification cards or the permit.
We spoke to one of the people in the village and he was very upset about the situation. He mentioned an incident in which some soldiers beat up a woman at the checkpoint a few days ago. We don’t have any other information about this incident. He also said that as far as he knows there are still restrictions on food amounts that can be taken through the checkpoint.
While we were there an army vehicle entered the village, drove fast towards the centre and returned after a few minutes. The man we were talking to said that the army vehicles drive through the village frequently during the day and night to reach the checkpoint at Beit Amin. He said that they used to drive through Shearei Tikva but following complaints about the noise, they now prefer using Azzun Atma. That is also a cause of annoyance and disturbance for the people in the village. He also said that the army vehicles drive too fast and dangerously, “they are driving in the village as if they are on the highway”.
'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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