Huwwara, Mon 15.12.08, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
13.45 At Zeita the road is closed as usual.
Crossroads of Za'tara/Tapuach. 13.55
Random checking of cars from North to South. Otherwise a free passage.
Huwwara. 14.10
Taxi drivers meet us excitedly and those carrying vegetables tell us that a captain of the DCO told them that if they do not vacate all the kiosks he will come with heavy equipment and vacate them. It has been decided to completely empty the market which has grown up in the parking lot. Efforts were made to speak to the headquarters of the DCO so that women of Machsom could check this out but until we let the commander of the DCO did not arrive although he had promised to do so and it is not clear what is to be done and why.
The non commissioned officer of the DCO who was present said that the decision had been taken because of the large amount of dirt and he said that only if they evacuated the kiosks would there be a clear passage for pedestrians to the taxis.
The exit from Nablus is open but only through the turnstile. Next to it is a large locked gate. A young couple struggle to get a folded pram through the turnstile. One of us asked a soldier who was standing next to the fence and watching if he could open the gate. His answer was "If she (the Palestinian) would ask me I would open but if you ask I will not." And he added :"Because you are the trouble makers of Israel." But the Palestinian would not ask.
The detainees are held in the "waiting area".
The dictionary of the checkpoints has been enriched. We found a detainee who had been kept more than an hour because of the daily suspicions attacked to his number. We get the laconic answer from the commander that he is a "security" risk and that he cannot solve this recurring problem. We could only speak to him when he came out.
15.00 We hear explosions at the car lane, the old checkpoint. Here the traffic has been stopped for more than an hour waiting for a big explosion which does not happen. Cars going to Nablus were sent to Awarta. The soldiers admitted that it was only a "small package" and it is not clear what aroused their suspicions.
15.15 A procession comes to welcome prisoners who were freed today as a gesture of good will to Abu Mazen. To the roll of drums and carrying Palestinian flags and many flages with yellow in the middle, the sign of Palestine and other symbols which we did not recognize.
Most of the welcoming committee are young and the soldiers try to force them back from the gate leading to Nablus. In the beginning a small group arrives carrying a young man on their shoulders. They get through the turnstiles and are received with hugs and kisses. After some time a larger group arrives accompanying more prisoners with their mothers, wives and children. Each freed prisoner carries a Palestinian flag around his neck and after passing the turnstile is carried on the shoulders of those waiting.
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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