Huwwara Dir Balut Za’atara Jnc.
Huwwara, Dir Balut, Za’atara Jnc.,Tuesday 9.5.2006 PMObservers: Erez (guest) Tami P. Hagit A. (reporting)Natanya translating.Dir Balut. A small checkpoint right next to the houses. Hidden and maybe one does not notice it. As stated in previous reports it is important to get there. When we got there there were 3 soldiers who refused to speak to us. A few cars passed and were carefully checked. Under the sentry tower stood a handcuffed man but the soldiers would not let us get near so as to speak to him. But we managed to understand from him that he had already been standing there for two hours. His hands we swollen and when we impressed this on the soldiers they eased the handcuffs slightly. Our questions as to why he had been detained, why he was handcuffed and why he had to stand were not answered. We phoned the Humanitarian centre who said that they would check but when we left a short time afterwards nothing had changed. Three hours later when the centre got back to us they said that the soldiers had denied the whole episode.Crossroads at Za’atara (Tapuach). A gigantic line of trucks from west to east, 10s of cars in a long line. Many full taxis with women and children. Two slow soldiers at the checking area and they were especially inefficient. They checked each car, those of the passengers and the pedestrians. The pace was slow and brought one to despair. On top of all this they did not allow the passengers to alight to get some fresh air. The people were baked inside the cars. Here too it was impossible to speak to the soldiers. On the other side of the crossroads in the direction north to south a similar situation, many cars and a slow pace. Our phones calls to the DCO and the brigade were answered with frustration politeness, they said that they were aware of the situation, noted our complaint and said thank you for phoning. There was a feeling that the complaint was noted on ice.Two hours later when we returned the situation was the same, the same two soldiers, now tired and jumpy and still an unending line of cars.Yizhar crossroads. Many cars waiting to be checked and here too the checking is slow and the waiting endless. From Nablus to the crossroads of Zatara, a few kilometers apart, people have to pass three checkpoints.Huwwarra. The checkpoint is quiet and a steady stream of pedestrians and cars. The daily difficulties of the people are as bad as ever. An elderly woman turns to us despairingly and says that her 15 year old son (she shows us his id- is not allowed to pass because the soldiers say he is 16. We spoke to the soldiers but by the time that they agreed the boy had gone.Someone approaches us and says that his father is in hospital in Nablus and each time he visits him he is detained for hours at the checkpoint. Another says that his wife was born overseas but she has no id and cannot go for treatment as she will not be allowed to return…and more and more.
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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