Beita - 5 posts were manned reinforced by 6 soldiers patrolling on foot
12:20 Sara Checkpoint, Jit Junction – manned, random inspection, no pressure, traffic flowing.
12:30 Huwara – Israeli army posts on the main road are manned, rifles at the ready. A group of soldiers walk around, later go into one of the alleys. We followed. They sat down behind a building facing an olive tree grove. When they saw us, one of them – probably their commander – came to ask who we were. We spoke, he asked us not to film one of the soldiers who had asked not to be photographed. We asked what they were doing, he answered that they were “patrolling”, so that stones would not be thrown.
We continued to Beita. The 5 posts were manned. We went to the council building without coordinating a visit. Fathiya says she tried to call the local council head a day earlier but there was no answer. He was at a meeting when we came. We waited for it to be over. He received us, and we asked about the demolition of the business place, he said it was in Area C, but the 5 buildings that received demolition order belong to a village called Odali near Beita, also inside Area C.
14:20 We left, exiting Beita in addition to the 5 army posts there were another 6 soldiers on foot – in other words, a whole battalion was in the area.
14:30 Huwara Checkpoint manned in both direction, inspections taking place but no crowding. We continued to Beit Furik where the checkpoint was manned but without inspection.
14:45 ‘Awarta – returning from Beit Furik on the road from Yitzhar to Huwara, at the entrance to ‘Awarta two buildings are located inside Area A, north of the road on the Nablus side, whereas the village itself is located south of the road. At the entrance to these two houses is a checkpoint and a gate, and when no soldiers are present the gate is closed. There were 5 posts at the checkpoint manned by soldiers who were inspecting vehicles, making youngsters get out and ordering them to raise their hands and lift their shirts. Then they ordered them to stand by the concrete bloc and lean on it, spreading their legs out and searched their bodies. They then inspected the vehicles. All this was done to people going home.
We got home, terribly desperate.
'Awarta
See all reports for this place-
Awarta, an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, is located east of the Hawara checkpoint, at the junction of Roads 555 (which was forbidden for Palestinian traffic in this area) and the entrance road to Nablus. It was one of the four checkpoints that surrounded Nablus until 2009. We used to watch it at Huwwara shifts because it was the only one where goods could be transferred to and from Nablus, using the back-to-back method. It was operated by the army, from 06:00 to 20:00. Until 2009.
Ronit Dahan-RamatiSep-26-2023Awarta: a long line of cars
-
Beit Furik checkpoint
See all reports for this place-
One of the three internal checkpoints that closed on the city of Nablus - Beit Furik to the east, Hawara to the south, Beit Iba to the west. The checkpoint is located at the junction of Roads 557 (an apartheid road that was forbidden for Palestinians), leading to the Itamar and Alon Morea settlements and Road 5487. The checkpoint was established in 2001 for pedestrians and vehicles; The opening hours were short and the transition was slow and very problematic.Allegedly, the checkpoint is intended to monitor the movement to and from Nablus of the residents of Beit Furik and Beit Dajan, being the only opening outside their villages. Since May 2009 the checkpoint is open 24 hours a day, the military presence is limited, vehicles can pass through it without inspections, except for random inspections. (Updated April 2010)
-
Beta
See all reports for this place-
Beta is a town of 12,000 people, high unemployment rate. Many work in Israel, others in agriculture. Neat ornamental system. Unemployment is high. Young people, even the educated, are forced to look for work in Israel. Medical services are available once a week.
Settlers from Yitzhar and Itamar harass residents frequently and prevent them from cultivating their fields: Permits are required from the DCO / DCL / DCL / DCL to go to work.
-
Huwwara
See all reports for this place-
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)
.Fathiya AkfaSep-26-2023Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
-
