Huwwara, Awarta, Beit Furiq and Beit Iba
Huwwara, Awarta, Beit Furiq and Beit Iba 27 September 2007 (Sukkot Festival)Watchers: Moran A., and Nava A. (both reporting). Guests: Pnina and Yoram P., and Alon H.Translation: Suzanne O.As usual a Jewish festival brings closure to the Palestinians. We did not see any particular preparations for the Friday prayers in Jerusalem tomorrow.Shomron Gate6:20 a.m.There is a police roadblock at the entrance to the territories.The traffic on the roads is light; all the settlers are hosting guests in their succot. The entrances to Hares and Zeita are open.Za’atra/Tapuach Junction6:35 a.m.There are five cars from the west and ten from the direction of Huwwara. Two inspection lanes are functioning, within a short time, the queue is reduced, and the traffic ‘flows’.According to the Golani soldiers at the roadblock there is no separation but there are a lot of warnings. They have no information about tomorrow’s plans.Yitzhar/Borin roadblocks6:55 a.m.Deserted.HuwwaraTraffic in town and into town is heavy. The humanitarian lane is functioning. There are few cars wanting to enter the town and the queue for those leaving is short.There is an x-ray machine there but no DCO representative (the soldiers told us that he had been there in the early hours of the morning and had gone to other places. Later we would see his car on the roads between the various roadblocks).The dog handler arrived later. There are no detainees and no one is in the cell.The drinking fountain is not working again and makes it hard for those wishing to wash their hands before prayers. A shaded place has still not been prepared for prayers for all those waiting in the car park.For some reason there are a lot of (officers) NCOs around (sergeants) but this does not hold up the inspection.Awarta7:45 a.m.It is quiet as usual. Few cars cross into the town.Beit Furiq8:00 a.m.There are a few cars at the entrance to the town and even fewer at the exit. The traffic of pedestrians is also light.On the main road soldiers in a Hammer jeep are held up by a flock of goats approaching the road. The shepherd moves them away into the field and the soldiers let them go.We go into Beit Furiq – the village appears deserted. The shutters on most of the shops are still closed.Huwwara8:50 a.m.A Palestinian caught driving on a forbidden road stands and waits for the soldiers to return his I.D. card to him. According to them he should have known it is forbidden to drive there and it is a measured punishment. “In an hour or two he will get his I.D. card back.” He was not prepared to give us his telephone number or any other details.Two cars belonging to Israeli Arabs enter the town. One is a priest married to a woman from Nablus with permits from the HQ and the second – it is not clear how he convinced to soldiers to let him in.9:10 a.m. Yitzhar/Borin roadblocks are still empty.Sara9:25 a.m.We drove towards the entrance to Sara, we hopped over the pit on the road and were shocked to see the mound of earth blocking the entrance to the village. It was better when there was an army position there so that at least there was a passage for vehicles into the village.Shavei Shomron Junction9:30 a.m.The roadblock is empty of soldiers. (They are surely preparing for those coming to Chomesh during the days between the festivals.)Beit Iba9:45 a.m.The quarry is working full blast and the white dust chokes the soldiers and the Palestinians alike. The work on laying the road at the site has ceased. The traffic of both cars and pedestrians is heavy but flows.We wish everyone a good festival and Ramadan.
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.
Jun-4-2014Beit-Iba checkpoint 22.04.04
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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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Jerusalem
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The places in East Jerusalem which are visited routinely by MachsomWatch women are Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah. During the month of Ramadan, also the Old City and its environs are monitored.
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