Huwwara Beit Furik
Huwwara, Beit Furik, Wednesday 12.7.06 AMObservers: Nina S. , Hanna A. (reporting)Silence before the storm.A dirt track between road 505, next to marda, going up to the fence around Ariel has been made and at it’s end a yellow gate.7.40 -A military vehicle opposite Marda, the gates to the village are open.7.45 -Tapuach/Za’atra junctionThere are 2 cars from the west. From the north 3 checking points, no cars in line. Fast passage.CP commander was prepared to say that passage limitations are the same as always.8.06 – The permanent flying checkpoint at the junction of roads 57/60 is manned, one soldier at the edge of the road with gun pointing to the field. 8 cars in line. Cars are stooped for fast checkup, including a bus that was stopped for seconds.8.15 – Huwwara2 checking points and at times the “humanitarian” CP is opened. The ritual of bag opening and clothes lifting is as usual. The luggage screening lorry is operating.Passage is slow. Residents of Nablus, Jenin and Tul Kaarem aged 15-35 are not allowed to pass. It has been 4 days like this, there are less and less people passing, we are told. But a young man, Machmud Abbase’s guard apparently, is allowed to pass after some checking.On entering there is a lot of traffic and the known sites of old people, hobbling through, supported by younger family repeat them selves.10.30 -a car with Israeli ID, a mother with 2 young man, her sons, want to go to Naablus (from east Jerusalem) to collect their deceased father/husband’s chattels from Rafidiye hospital. He was a doctor and worked there. They have no permit and are asked to stop at the side and await instruction.10.38 – We left.9.23 – Beit FurikPedestrians arrive from Beit Furik and enter freely through the turnstiles. All residents of the villages in the vicinity may pass.10.50 – Junction roads 57/60 – the CP is active10.55 Tapuach/Zaatra junction there are 18 cars in line from the north.At the construction site of the new entrance CP to Israel, on road 5, there are new Caravans.
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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Marda
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Marda
There are about 2500 inhabitants in the village. A large part of their lands was confiscated for the benefit of the settlement of Ariel, some of whose buildings are adjacent to the village.
They often feel under siege. At both entrances to the village from the main road (505) there are checkpoints and the army does close the yellow arms from time to time. The inhabitants of Marda own olive groves behind a fence. Rarely are they allowed to cultivate their agricultural plots
Shoshi AnbarApr-14-2025Marda: The gate has been closed since the beginning of the war
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