Huwwara
Huwwara. 28 June 2005 Watchers: Yael P., Liriet L. (reporting)8:00 a.m.On the way to Huwwara, close by it, there is a snap roadblock near Burin. The traffic has come to a complete halt and there is a huge jam comprising hundreds of vehicles.We get out of our vehicle and try to find out what is going on. Yael is answered rudely by one of the soldiers who instructs his colleague to close the car window in her face, so that she cannot hassle him with questions.A settler whose car is covered with stickers calls out to Yael: “I hope a terrorist kills you! Decide what you are already! Jewish or Arab! Decide what you are already!”She doesn’t wait for Yael’s decision and manages to move on a bit in the crowd and the hubbub…About 20 minutes later an order is received and the jam is eased. Just four men, who it appears are the ones being hunted, are left behind.Huwwara is relatively calm and they do not really know what was going on near Borin. 8:30 a.m.An Italian man is detained; he wants to join his friends who are peace activitists in Nablus. Contrary to what has been happening lately, entrance into Nablus is refused to Israelis and foreigners. For the past few months everyone was allowed into Nablus, there was only a problem on the way out. Now the problem has returned in both directions.After a few telephone calls and a conversation with the D.C.O. officer we managed to help him and he went into Nablus happy and satisfied.Some minutes later, a Czech man who also wanted to go to Nablus arrived. I spoke with the D.C.O officer and found out that as he had no specific reason to go to Nablus except just as a tourist, he can’t get a permit on the spot. I gave him their fax number, explained the procedure to him and we parted.At about 10:00 a.m. a wanted woman is detained. She is a young, pretty girl who is very pale. When he first arrived the senior officer asked a woman soldier to take her into the detainees’ hut. The soldier is confused and giggly. She goes in and locks up. Afterwards a soldier is sent to guard the wanted woman personally. She is seated and he aims his weapon at her. I take a photograph and it seems to me that he is very stressed by the situation. I promise him that I won’t photograph his face.I approach A., the roadblock officer, and ask him if this is necessary: she has passed through the detector, therefore, she is not carrying a weapon and it will certainly not stop her from blowing herself up. He replies that it keeps the soldier alert and ensures he is aware of the importance of the event, i.e. that she is not an ordinary detainee and he must not take his eyes off her, secondly he says that it prevents her from being disorderly and thirdly, he adds, “there is something in what you say” and he turns to the soldier and instructs him to lower his weapon.Generally, A., behaves humanely towards those crossing the roadblock and even observes to a soldier that she has not noticed a woman caught in a turnstile: “Please be aware of what is going on”.After about half an hour the officer asks the woman soldier to take the wanted woman into the checking cubicle and carry out a body check. Then a Shabak vehicle arrives, a blindfold is put on the woman, and she is led out to the car in silence.11:30 a.m.We leave. There are 20 vehicles at Tapuach Junction. I try to call Ra’ad and his two deputies, but get no answer.
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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Ronit Dahan-RamatiAug-24-2026Huwara: The school on the outskirts of town and an outpost hidden among the trees
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