Nablus
One day after the invasion to Askar
refugee camp, where four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were
killed.
Bet Fouriq checkpoint is located 10 kms from Huwwara, at the
intersection of the settler road and a local road connecting Nablus
with Bet Fouriq and Bet Dajan. It is divided into a western part,
with a gate for pedestrians and lorries coming from Nablus, and an
eastern part, for pedestrians and some commercial vehicles, coming
from Bet Fouriq. Men between 16-40 need a permit. There is no
shelter from sun (or rain). There is a water tank in the eastern
area which is not easily accessible. The only shaded place is at
the centre, where we saw about six detainees, who were caught
bypassing, and were waiting for their IDs. We weren’t allowed to
talk to them. When movement of trucks westward started, a huge
truck had a very noisy and dusty tyre puncture, and was stuck smack
in the centre of the checkpoint, in the area reserved for the
soldiers, and passage, only. The soldier insisted that the truck
had to be moved out of the checkpoint centre, and the driver
insisted that there was no way he could move the truck. This went
on for some moments, until, astonishingly, the soldier relented.
The driver changed the huge tyre in mid checkpoint, and 15 minutes
later, was out of the place with his replaced tire
14:30 Some dozens of people waited on each side and there was no
movement in either direction. The checkpoint commander was
extremely hostile. He wanted to get rid of us by any means, and did
not allow us to go to the western side, nor speak to the detainees.
But we stayed and as often happens, after some time people were
beginning to pass. We stayed about 2 hours and when we left the
checkpoint was almost empty.
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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