Habla, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 30.5.10, Morning
Habla: According to people standing at the checkpoint, it just now opened (it should have opened at 06:45). Many are waiting to leave Habla; we weren’t able to estimate their number.
07:03 The first group exits after inspection.
07:12 A second wave exits.
Later we timed how long it takes someone to go through – today it took about 2-3 minutes.
A Palestinian tells us that today the soldier (he means the officer) is ok. We noticed the checkpoint was quiet despite the large number of people waiting, the officer was active, comes over to speak to people now and then. And something I haven’t seen at the checkpoints before: soldiers having long conversations with Palestinians waiting for their turn to be inspected.
A young man is not allowed through. He speaks to the commander, requests, pleads. The officer explains the reason. Then we see the commander making a phone call, apparently to find out whether to let him through anyway, but it seems he didn’t receive authorization to do so. He returns to the man, speaks to him, but the man isn’t convinced and remains where he is. He asks us to come help him, but the commander doesn’t allow us into the checkpoint area; he comes over to us and explains that the man lost his ID card. The man waves to us with a picture, and we assume it’s a replacement document. We call the DCO, who’s aware of the case, and tells us that the document confirms the loss of the ID, not a replacement ID. They say he has to get a temporary ID from the Palestinian Authority.
Later another Palestinian gives us the man’s phone number, and we talk to him. He claims that he got that document from the Authority. We call the DCO again who tell us that he didn’t get the correct document from the Authority. We explain to the man he has to obtain a temporary ID; he left after being here about an hour, having failed in his attempts to overturn the sentence.
07:15 A school bus goes through the checkpoint without inspection or delays.
Five Palestinians sought our help while we were at the checkpoint: four the GSS refuses to allow through and one refused by the police. We’ll give their details to Silvia P. and Haya O. 08:05 A few people are still waiting at the checkpoint.
We left. 09:00 (approximately). Izbet Tabib: the bar across the road is open, no soldiers in the area.
Habla
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Habla CP (1393)
The Habla checkpoint (1393) was established on the lands of the residents of Qalqilya, on the short road that
connected it for centuries to the nearby town of Habla. The separation barrier intersects this road twice and cut off the residents of Qalqilya from their lands in the seam zone.(between the fence and the green line).
There is a passage under Road 55 that connects Qalqilya to the sabotage This agricultural barrier is used by the farmers and nursery owners established along Road 55 from the Green Line and on both sides of the kurkar road leading to the checkpoint.
This agricultural checkpoint serves the residents of Arab a-Ramadin al-Janoubi (detached from the West Bank), who pass through it to the West Bank and back to their homes. The opening hours (3 times a day) of this agricultural checkpoint are longer than usual, about an hour (recently shortened to 45 minutes), and are coordinated with the transportation hours of a-Ramadin children studying in the occupied in the West Bank.
Nina SebaAug-18-2025Habla: The gate is in the process of closing
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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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Shoshi AnbarMay-18-2025Huwara: The old houses in Area C
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Za'tara (Tapuah)
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Za'tara (Tapuah) Za'tara is an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, at the intersection of Road 60 and Road 505 (Trans-Samaria), east of the Tapuah settlement. This checkpoint is the "border" marked by the IDF between the north and south of the West Bank, in accordance with the policy of separation between the two parts of the West Bank that has been in place since December 2005. At the Za'tara checkpoint, there are separate routes for Israelis and Palestinians. In the route for Israelis, there are no inspections and the route for Palestinians inspects. The queue lengthens and shortens suits. The checkpoint is open 24 hours a day. The checkpoint is partially staffed and the people who pass through it are checked at random.
Ronit Dahan-RamatiJun-9-2026Za'atara (Tapuach Junction). The Temple Flag Above a Station
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