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Huwara - soldiers on both sides of the street with their weapons drawn

Observers: Karin, Anat Polak, Fathiya (Reporting) Translation: Bracha Ben-Avraham
Aug-31-2023
| Afternoon

14:00 At the entrance to the village of Shufa opposite the entrance to the settlement of Avnei Hefetz  there is a gate that the army and the settlers close whenever they please.  Last week the settlers closed the gate and prevented the village residents from entering, and they began to pray there.   We therefore went there to see what was going on.

14:15 Anabta Checkpoint was operating.  One of the people told us that they cause problems for clerks when they leave for work in the morning and when they return in the afternoon.   

14:30 Beit Iba – At the entrance to Beit Iba – Dir Sharaf there were army positions in both directions with four soldiers at each position.

14:45 – The position was manned and soldiers were also stationed at the entrance to the village of Sara and Nablus. 

15:00 Burin – The position opposite the school was manned.   

15:10 – The checkpoint at Huwara was manned.  People were being checked but there was no waiting line.  Two women soldiers approached us and asked who we were and then left. 

15:30 Beit Furik was manned.  People were being checked but there was no waiting line.

 After 16:00 Beit Furik and Huwara became crowded. 

We returned to Huwara.  At every corner on the main street there were military position with armed soldiers on both sides of the street with their weapons drawn.    There was another position on the roof of a four – story building overlooking the square and the road leading to the village of Einabus, where there is a gate. 

We entered a store and the owners told us that they had been told by the soldiers that if they did not close the store within a half hour the soldiers would throw shock grenades and gas grenades at them.  After a few minutes a group of soldiers began going from one store to another to ensure that they were closing.  They shouted at the owner of the store we had entered.  I told the soldiers that it was my fault that he had not closed because I had wanted to buy something, and the soldiers demanded to know why I wanted to shop here.

The owner of the knafeh bakery said that he did not know what to do because he had an order of sweets to fill for a wedding that needed to be delivered on time.

I followed the soldiers and asked them why they were forcing people to close their stores.  They claimed that people had been throwing stones.  I argued that I had not seen a single person in the street and it was blocked with cars.

16:00 Beita

There were two positions at the entrance with soldiers standing next to them. 

16:20 – We drove back via Jit Junction.  There was a long line of cars at Sara Checkpoint.  Soldiers were meticulously checkpoint each car.  The line extended nearly as far as the entrance to Nablus.

16:40  Azun – The position next to the gate was manned. 

 

 

  • 'Anabta CP

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    • 'Anabta CP

      The checkpoint is located south of the village of 'Anabta, at the intersection of Road 60 (leading to Nablus at the entrance to Area A), with Road (57, 557, 5576) facing west towards the Einav settlement and the checkpoint at the exit from the West Bank - Figs checkpoint. Until 2010 we used to watch the intersection and report the long columns created due to a slow inspection of the vehicles in both directions.  
      Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11
      Oct-28-2011
      Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11
  • Beit Furik checkpoint

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    • 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)
  • Beit Iba

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    • A perimeter checkpoint west of the city of Nablus. Operated from 2001 to 2009 as one of the four permanent checkpoints closing on Nablus: Beit Furik and Awarta to the east and Hawara to the south. A pedestrian-only checkpoint, where MachsomWatch volunteers were present daily for several hours in the morning and afternoon to document the thousands of Palestinians waiting for hours in long queues with no shelter in the heat or rain, to leave the district city for anywhere else in the West Bank. From March 2009, as part of the easing of the Palestinian movement in the West Bank, it was abolished, without a trace, and without any adverse change in the security situation.  
      Beit-Iba checkpoint 22.04.04
      Neta Efroni
      Jun-4-2014
      Beit-Iba checkpoint 22.04.04
  • 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
      Jun-4-2014
      Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
  • Shufa

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    • Shufa

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