Huwwara
Huwwara, Tuesday 7.3.2006 PMObservers: Fatchia I. Zahava G. (reporting)Natanya translating.At 15.00 -there were about 300 people waiting next to the crossroads from the direction of Hawarra to the exit from Nablus. A long procession of lorries waited in the road, buses and taxis. Both soldiers and Palestinians told us that this had been going on for about two hours. From the direction of Nablus there were even more people and cars ….we could not see the end of the line because we were not allowed to approach the checkpoint. On the roads at the checkpoint were many soldiers and even more border police. A captain tells us that a young boy tried to pass with explosive material and therefore no one is allowed to get close to the checkpoint until it ix exploded. Both soldiers and police shouted continuously at the people of whom more and more were arriving and pushing them back …at the same time those in front were being pushed forward by the new arrivals.Daphna B. arrived with two visitors from overseas and one of them photographed this scene. We did not know for how long people would be detained and requested that the old people, the sick and mothers with babies of whom there were many be allowed to sit in the many cars which were waiting. But the captain did not agree. They only allowed Nadim to do this and put about eight people into his car and after half an hour the explosion was heard.15.50 -The last of those waiting were freed into Nablus. When we got closer to the checkpoint we saw that the humanitarian lane had improved since last week.16.15 -An army jeep arrived and from it descended a young boy with blindfolded eyes and hands in handcuffs. He was the one who had brought the device. Y. A. S. from the Askar camp and he said he was 15 years old. We gave him water and Fatchia managed to speak to him and he said someone else had asked him to take the device through but she learned no more than that. We asked his phone number at home but he could not remember it.We asked the commander to loosen the handcuffs slightly and he agreed. He said he had to keep the boy in the jorra until the secret service would tell him what to do.17.00 We left.
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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