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‘Azzun, ‘Azzun ‘Atma, Huwwara

Observers: Ana S., Aliyah S. reporting
Jan-15-2015
| Morning

9:40  We entered the Palestinian territories through Eliyahu Gate. The small town of Nabi Elias was quiet; business was going on as usual.

At the main entrance to Azzoun there was a military jeep on the side of the road. Two soldiers were standing with their guns by the jeep. The gate to the town was open and the traffic was going in and out without any problem that we could see.

 

In Funduk it was business as usual. Jit junction was open but there was very sparse traffic, perhaps because the weather was rainy.

Huwarra checkpoint was empty and the traffic was moving both directions. Beit Furiq  checkpoint was empty, as usual.

At the bus stop to Bracha, and also at the bus stop to Huwarra (from the direction of Nablus) soldiers were standing with their rifles pointed at the road. We didn't remember seeing that ever before.

 

When we came into the falafel shop in Huwarra, two young boys, maybe about 8 years old, were waiting to get their falafels. One boy had a bag of Bamba from which he was eating. Ana and I stepped up to order our falafels. The boy said, "Marchaba" and we answered him. Then he held out a piece of Bamba to Ana and one to me. We said, "Shuchran," and we all smiled at each other. I wish those Israelis who say that the children are taught to hate us could have seen this simple, human exchange. The boy got his falafel and waved goodbye to us.

 

Z'atra (Taapuach Junction) was empty in the center. Two soldiers were standing at the side of the road from Nablus, but they weren't checking anyone. As usual, there were 2 soldiers on guard at the bus stop on road 60 to Ramallah.

We drove to see the new road and the new wall that closes off Azzoun Atmeh. It was the first time we had seen it and we were astounded. Nadim explained that the workers, who work in Israel and used to be picked up right outside the gate to Azzoun Atmeh, now have to go to Habla and Qalqilia and from there to pass through Eyal Gate. This, of course, makes their way to work much, much longer.

We left the territories through Shomron Gate.

  • 'Azzun

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    • Azoun (updated February 2019)

      A Palestinian town situated in Area B (under civil Palestinian control and Israeli security control), 

      on road 5 between Nablus and Qalqiliya, east of Nabi Elias village. The inhabitants are allowed to construct and improve infrastructures. The Separation Fence has confiscated lands belonging to the town's people. In 2018 olive tree groves owned by one of its inhabitants were confiscated for the sake of paving a road to bypass Nabi Elias. Azoun population numbers 13,000, its economic state dire. Its infrastructures are poor, neglect and poverty rampant. In the meantime, the town council has completed paving an internal road for the inhabitants' welfare.

      Because of its proximity to the Jewish settler-colony of Karnei Shomron and its outposts, the town suffers the intense presence of the Israeli army, especially at nighttime: soldiers enter homes, arrest suspects, trash the house and sometimes ruin it, as they do in numerous places in the West Bank. At times a checkpoint closes the entrance to the town, so no one can come in or get out.

       

  • '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

       

      עזון: הכניסה הראשית לכפר עזון: חסומה כבר מספר שבועות
      Apr-11-2019
      Azoun: The main entrance to village blocked now for several weeks
  • 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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      Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
      Fathiya Akfa
      Apr-11-2019
      Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
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