Nablus
Summary: Significant improvement in
comparison with our observations two weeks ago. The passage is much
better organized and most soldiers behave properly. There were
water containers on both sides, though at South end it was
empty.
Huwwara South, 8:00am. A line of around 200 men and a much shorter
line of women. Local people reported that the checkpoint opened
around 06:40. Some people waited from very early morning hours. Men
who arrived around 6am passed around 9am. With our arrival, the
rate of movement increased significantly and at around 10am there
were almost no lines. The three soldiers in charge proved again
that three soldiers could handle a big crowd non-violently. We were
told that men between 16-35 need permits, but this was not strictly
implemented. Some An-Najjah University students wanted to go to
their exams, but the University announced that the academic year
was closed on Thursday, creating a problem. A merchandise transfer
was directed to Awarta, a nearby checkpoint. Ambulances passed
quickly. We saw a Field Mobile Hospital with delivery room and
small surgery equipment, on its way to Ein Furiq.
Huwarra North: Worse here than in the South. Many more people. Two
female and two male soldiers were assisting the commander with the
checking. They were not particularly nice, but we have seen worse.
Checking was rather slow, there was warning of a potential
terrorist passage. The rule here was: men 16-40 need special
permit, women pass freely. We moved humanitarian cases (old, ill
and women with babies) to the front of the line. We managed to put
some of them on ambulances, to shorten their wait. We persuaded the
soldiers to let through an old lady who forget her ID, a young man
with a doctor appointment, and a young husband accompanying his
wife to hospital. We did not succeed with a young Jordanian
businessman whose papers the soldiers found unconvincing. A young
man with a permanent address in Qalqilya who lives, studies and
works in Nablus was refused passage. We expressed our appreciation
of the improved organization of the checkpoint. Soldiers were glad
that we told them that. They wanted to present themselves as
“good guys”, and presently this is our main tool to
operate on behalf of the Palestinians.
Huwwara
See all reports for this place-
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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