Habla, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 11.7.13, Afternoon
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translated by Shelly K.
Second day of Ramadan
13:40 – Habla Checkpoint– Relatively heavy traffic for this lunch hour through both sides of the checkpoint. Perhaps due to Ramadan. Opening hours of the gates are unchanged (three times daily)
14:00– Near Kfar Azun, we see a military vehicle climb the dirt road on the side towards the village. The main entrance to Azun is closed by the yellow iron roadblock. Two armed soldiers lean on one of the big boulders (which blocked the entrance a month ago). An army jeep with an Officer arrives. Asked why the gate is closed he replies “I don’t have to answer you about that…” I didn’t hear the continuation of the answer On the road to Huwwara Checkpoint in the valley between the villages of Asira el Kabeliya and opposite Burin there is the smell of fires, started by the settlers from Yizhar. It is still felt in the air.
14:32 – Huwwara Checkpoint – There are no soldiers at the checkpoint. At the “Trampiadas” on both sides, there are soldiers to assure the safety of the Bracha settlers.
14:50 – An army jeep is parked inside Kfar Huwwara (on the main road). An army vehicle is seen driving towards the village amidst a line of Palestinian vehicles. Today there is heavy traffic on the way to Nablus. 15:50 – North of Akraba there are two villages with the same name but different endings (one is called Hirbet Yinon Tahta and the other Hirbet Yinon Foka – below and above). Some of the residents of Hirbet Yinon Tahta left under threats of Itamar settlers: they take over and expand and dispatch dispersed teams on the northern, eastern and western hilltops surrounding the village. But the village itself is an oasis, enchanting. Fortunately there are always volunteers from overseas.
16:30 – Za’tara Checkpoint – Police and military vehicles arestationed there. We saw Palestinians being detained outside of their vehicles. All along the road from the Za’atara Checkpoint to Hares Junction – the fence that totally blocked the entrance to the northern side has been removed (also the posts that supported it have been removed).
16:50 – Azzun Atma Checkpoint – There is no crowding. We saw detainees at the entrance to the checkpoint. We counted 4 visible openings in the fence surrounding the village.
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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.
Shoshi AnbarSep-27-2023Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
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and maybe it was for the better. For three days this village has been punished. From the residents we learned that it is possible to exit via the other side of the village. At the Humanitarian Center we heard that of late rocks have been thrown from the village and therefore it is unknown when the closure will be rescinded.