Jit Junction, Borin, Huwwara, Beit Furiq, Za’atra
Jit Junction, Borin, Huwwara, Beit Furiq, Za’atra 11 April 2007 Watchers: Tushka K., Chana A. (reporting)Translation: Suzanne O.Remark: because of the joint travel arrangements for the Beit-Iba and the Huwwara shifts we passed by Jit Junction and the report notes the Jit and Borin roadblocks.General: ‘routine occupation’Jit Junction8:07 a.m.There are five cars from the direction of Huwwara/Yitzhar, a soldier points his gun directly at the cars at eye level.From the direction of Beit-Iba there are no cars and neither is the guard post staffed.8:15 a.m.The roadblock at Borin Junction is staffed. There are four vehicles in the queue; the passengers of the bus stand beside it for their documents to be checked.Huwwara8:17 a.m.There are many people entering Nablus.There is one checkpoint for pedestrians and sometimes an additional checkpoint functions when there are women crossing. There are about forty people in the queue.Since the soldiers do not talk to us, on orders (on our arrival one of the soldiers in the vehicle checkpoint came over and welcomed us warmly, but he was immediately called by other soldiers and rebuked), we could not find out on the spot whether there were limitations.Rather than in its usual spot, beside the ‘humanitarian point’, the x-ray machine stands at the end of the inspection lane for pedestrians leaving the town, by the detainees’ hut. Not far from it stand a female soldier (sometimes smoking) and a male one instructing the women leaving to put their packages through the machine. We were unable to see whether the people were forced to return and take their documents from the checkpoint or whether after their packages had gone through the x-ray machine they continued on their way.9:15 a.m. approximatelyWe left in the direction of Beit Furiq.Beit Furiq9:27 a.m.On the road leaving from Beit Furiq some 20 cars are in the queue.There are very few pedestrians entering the town, none leave.We went to the roadblock commander and drew his attention to the quantity of vehicles queuing to leave Beit Furiq. Yes, he is aware of it, explaining that it is because cars are inspected alternately, leaving and entering.Back to Huwwara9:45 a.m.There is a detainee in the detention hut. The detainee is Israeli, wearing a white tracksuit, a marble contractor from Jaljulia bringing money to one of his employees, a resident of Nablus. He has been detained since 9:35 a.m. He entered via a lane, there are no signs on the lane, just handed over the money and, when he tried to return, the soldiers arrested him, took away his I.D. card and sent him to the detention hut. His employee’s wife needs to have surgery. The employee needed the money because he was told that she would not be operated upon until he paid up.9:48 a.m.A female soldier puts a veiled woman into the ‘women’s cubicle’ for inspection. The door closes behind them. The inspection is short and when the women leaves, it can be seen from the side that she is pregnant, one of her coat buttons is undone.9:55 a.m.We left.Za’atra10:03 a.m.The roadblock is still staffed by reservists. Since there are three cars from the direction of Nablus and three cars from the west, and as there is nothing particularly unusual, we do not wait around but return so that we can drive back via Jit.Borin10:12 a.m.The permanent snap roadblock continues to be staffed. The soldiers at the roadblock are ‘creative’ and with the aid of stones they have marked the ‘line’ that the cars have to stop by. Now there are twenty-one vehicles in the queue. It is raining quite heavily and people are forced to wait to be inspected outside of their bus. When we went by they had just started to get back on the bus. We phoned the ‘Humanitarian Centre’, simply to inform them and for it to be noted, and N., says that she will see what can be done but, of course, she doesn’t think and is not sure that anything can be done.10:15 a.m.On Road 60 the obstruction opposite Madma has been removed.Jit Junction10:18 a.m.There are fifteen cars from the direction of Huwara and no cars from the direction of Beit-Iba.
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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Ronit Dahan-RamatiAug-24-2026Huwara: The school on the outskirts of town and an outpost hidden among the trees
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Jit Junction
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The checkpoint is located on Route 60 near at the junction with Route 55, near the village of Jit. There was a checkpoint for vehicles passing between the north and south of the West Bank, which was abolished towards 2010. Since then, surprise checkpoints have been set up there from time to time with a police or Border Police vehicle, and vehicles and their passengers are inspected.
Anat PolakJul-17-2025Yitzhar Road, Jit Junction: traffic jam
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