Huwwara, Qira, Zeta, Wed 23.5.12, Morning
Translator: Hanna K.
10:15 Zeita – Some of us stayed in Zeita and had our meeting with the women.
And some left at 11:00 to the Za'tara intersection. There are no soldiers at the CP.
11:20 At Huwwara – A traffic jam and long queues of many tens of cars in all directions. The cause was that an explosive charge had been found in the square.
Just when we arrived two jeeps with more than 10 soldiers appeared and closed the roads from and to Nablus, as well as all the roads from the big square to all the other directions – Har Beraha and Awarta.
When we tried to enter, the border policeman who was there began waving his arms and shouted at us rudely that we should go away.
In the meantime an enormous traffic jam developed on the road, and more jeeps and many soldiers appeared. After some time they opened the Awarta CP and sent the vehicles to pass through the village.
Another jeep arrived and blocked the traffic to Huwwara from the direction of Awarta, created an enormous car queue from the square up to the center of Huwwara.
We waited in the traffic jam for a long time, and at 12:45 we managed to leave and continue on our way back to Zeita.
At Zeita we held during all this time a Hebrew lesson. The group advances nicely and the attendance of the women is complete and diligent, which is not characteristic for groups of voluntary learning in similar frameworks.
13:40 Qira – We drove to Qira for a meeting which was arranged for us with the coordinator of a group of mothers from.
It seems that their coordinator managed in a spontaneous decision to convene the mothers for a meeting with us at their center at Qira, but just forgot to see to it that we be informed.
There, at the center for women, a big group of about 25 mothers of different ages welcomed us cordially. Among the woman there was also the midwife, an elderly woman we had met in the village, as well has her family. We have also visited her home several times.
It seems that our acquaintance with the midwife and especially the presence of Fathiya with us opened the hearts of the women towards us, with much less suspicion and much more warmth and amiability.
Fatahiya led the acquaintance talks; introduced MachsomWatch and the reasons for our initiative in the villages and the possibilities for an activity programmed.
According to their choice we decided to teach English and Yoga in two alternate groups. It seems that the coordinator will divide the women by age and their prior knowledge of English. Hagar will conduct the Yoga training and Rivka Raz will teach English.
Later we will try to add instruction in handicraft.
We saw that the conditions there are more comfortable than in most places. There are three rooms for activities, with air conditioners, mattresses for Yoga and the feeling that the coordinator is attentive to the women and interested in cooperating with us.
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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Qira
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Qira
This village is located in the Salfit district of the northern West Bank, 19 kilometers south-west of Nablus. The village population numbered 1,387 as of 2016. 97.6% of the village lands are categorized as Area B, whereas the 2.3% remaining are in Area C. The Separation Fence erected around the settler-colony city of Ariel separates Qira from its local town Salfit, and necessitates a detour of about 20 kilometers.
In 2010-2015, the women’s center in the village held meetings and workshops shared by the village women and children with members of MachsomWatch.
For further information: http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/pdfs/vprofile/Qira_vp_en.pdf
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Zeta South (564)
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Zeta South (564) Agricultural checkpoint. Allows passage to farmers whose lands have been imprisoned beyond the Separation Barrier. The crossing is allowed for special permit holders, for three days a week: noon and afternoon for 15 minutes at a time. The Palestinians who need to pass are complaining about the short times and the few days they can work on their land.
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