Huwwara
Huwwara, Tapuach Junction and Jebara. 4 July 2005 Watchers: Orly P., Erna D., Yael L., Catrine (guest) and Ada H. (reporting)“Just” a regular day.Tapuach Junction7:40 a.m.13 cars wait in the queue on Highway 5 in the direction of Huwwara or Ma’aleh Ephraim. The check is quick and there are no unnecessary hold-ups. Cars get through in less than one minute. From the direction of Huwwara to Highway 5 no cars are waiting at this time of the morning. A car that arrives crosses after a short check.Huwwara8:20 a.m.Pedestrians are practically not checked as they enter Nablus. Those leaving Nablus cross after a short check and a superficial look at their I.D. cards. Very few people are leaving. Only one person out of the three checking is working, the other two look on. When the stream increases another checker is added.The cars entering Nablus are checked and waved across. Those leaving Nablus are checked and some of them are sent for checks by the sniffer dogs that are present today. They also do not hold up the vehicles more than fifteen minutes, but we are not allowed to witness the vehicle checks (if you stand here – we shall not carry out the checks).All the passengers are told to alight from one of the buses, the interior is checked, then the passengers’ documents are checked and then they are allowed back on the bus. The check takes seven minutes.About eleven ambulances crossed in both directions with lights flashing. They were checked and released swiftly.The soldiers are calm and work quietly. The roadblock officer, Second lieutenant A., of the paratroops, manages things efficiently. He asks us to go to him with any questions we may have, not to his soldiers. 8:50 a.m.A young man, whose I.D. card has accidentally been in the wash, is detained. His details are checked.9:25 a.m.The young man is released and goes on his way.Tapuach Junction10:10 a.m.There are 16 cars waiting to leave in the direction of Tel Aviv or Ma’aleh Ephraim. The check takes between one to one and a half minutes per car.
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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