The seam zone: soldiers beat Palestinians in Qalqilya
We left from Rosh Ha’Ayin to get acquainted with the occupation from the western side of the separation obstacle and to see what has changed on the ground. We saw how the 3 settlements – Shaarei Tikvah, Etz Ephraim and Elkana – which were established a few kilometers from the Green Line, divide (purposely) the Palestinian villages Sanniriya, Mas’ha and ‘Azzun ‘Atma whose population are from the same families. When the fence was erected 20 years ago, it cut through between the villages so one could get to the settlements without having to go through the checkpoint, but actually forced the residents of the villages which are close to each other to travel by way of other villages.
This is the first time that security and army vehicles did not follow us, despite the long stop next to the Hani Gate (which no longer opens since the vineyards have turned into garbage dumps), and it was possible to view Etz Ephraim which is growing and expanding, and also to tell about the house of Hani.
From there we travelled to Oranit. The Oranit checkpoint has not opened since the war.
We visited A., from ‘Azzun ‘Atma, who owns the land near Kfar Qassem. In May, he told us that he hadn’t been in his house in ‘Azzun ‘Atma for 4 months and that his son managed to visit twice but, the second time, he was arrested. Their permits to enter the area and stay near the village are no longer valid. He stayed on the land because he has greenhouses and crops. Very few people come to the shop. The shop next to him is deserted, his neighbor does not get to the area.
About 2 months ago there were a few customers, so we didn’t have a chance to talk. This time, he was alone in the shop. Two workers wandered about outside. He was very angry; they only allow him to cross the Eyal checkpoint, which is intended for workers, and not through any of the agricultural checkpoints. Of course, only on foot, not in a vehicle, so it takes him hours to get from his house to his parcel of land which is actually a five minute drive away! He is also forbidden to carry any equipment. Neither his sons nor his wife have a permit, and not his workers from ‘Azzun ‘Atma. He is forced to hire workers from Rosh Ha’Ayin, at a double salary, and they have almost no work. He hasn’t gone home for 2 months. He doesn’t understand why they open up Habla, but not here. And he doesn’t have a permit to go through at Habla.
We drove to Habla. There was a friend from the south at ‘A. and, in honor of the visit of new friends, he enlarged his repertory of stories and statements about the situation. He began with the importance of retaining a bit of hope but, after that, it became clear that he was discouraged, just like us. The Habla checkpoint opens 3 times a day: 6:30-7:30, 13:30-14:00, 17:30-18:00. This is actually difficult for him: he is forbidden to bring any more workers through the Eliyahu checkpoint. He urges his workers to leave Qalqilya early in the morning since he has no chance of going through if he doesn’t get there in time. Because of the long line at the Habla checkpoint, and the slowness of the security check, it often happens that they don’t all go through by the time the soldiers want to close the gate at 7:30 but, even if they got there previously, he doesn’t allow them to go through.
The entrance to the road which leads to the Habla checkpoint and to his nursery and the other nurseries, along the southern side of highway #55 is impossible for those arriving from the Eliyahu checkpoint as a continuous white line forbids left hand turns. The 2 roundabouts which had existed before were cancelled, in order to punish the Palestinians because they did not agree to give up the strip of dozens of dunams from the area of the nurseries in order to widen the road for the settlers. He has to enter Israel by highway #444 and then make a U-turn at the gas station.
He is very angry at the condescending tone of voice of the soldiers and their general attitude. He spoke about various incidents, but he also is afraid that something will happen to his son who is studying at the university next to Jenin: that he won’t have contact with the soldiers, that he won’t annoy one of the soldiers, so he accompanies him to his exams, to the checkpoint, in the middle of the West Bank; he has to explain to the soldiers why he is travelling north with his son…he also collects him from Bethlehem…this strong man expresses the general anxiety of the Palestinians in the West Bank that something terrible will happen to them at any moment, and emphasizes to what extent they are vulnerable.
No one wants to meet up with the soldiers wandering around in Qalqilya (area A) in the evening, so they hide or run away. Two youths ran away when they saw soldiers one morning, even though they had done nothing, and went into an open supermarket. The soldiers went after them, struck people and injured them, and destroyed part of the equipment. In the bakery, before it opened, soldiers got in through a small opening and seriously beat the bakers who were standing in front of the ovens with their backs toward them. Whoever gets a beating like that in total surprise never gets rid of the trauma. We left after an hour and a half with heavy hearts. We continued on our short tour to see the fence which had been erected on a new route following a decision of the High Court, so that 4 villages which had been cut off from the West Bank would be reconnected to it. We saw a new fence, a different type, and much higher in the area of the main gate which has never opened. We were not able to photograph it because soldiers in military vehicles prevented us.
We visited the Bedouin village of a-Ramadin, stuck between Alfei Menashe and Highway #55, which was not connected with the rest of the population of the West Bank, and then we returned home.
Location Description
'Azzun 'Atma
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'Azzun 'Atma
A Palestinian village of about 1,800 residents. The settlement of Sha'arei Tikva was established on its land adjacent to it, and the settlement of Oranit was established on its agricultural lands. By 2013, the separation fence had passed through the village and a checkpoint staffed by the army allowed the residents to cross from side to side. After building a massive wall surrounding the village and some of its agricultural lands, the residents went daily for five years to their lands that remained in the Seam Zone through the Oranit agricultural checkpoint (4). Since 2018 it has only opened during the olive harvest and the farmers have to pass daily at the Beit Amin / Abu Salman checkpoint (1447), about 3 kilometers north.From a report from March 24, 2021: "The farmers from Beit Amin and Azon Atma are happy that since February 21 the Oranit checkpoint .is going to be open 3 times a day, The farmers are really developing the place."
Report from July 14, 2024: "Ornit checkpoint is closed . The Beit Amin/Abu Salman agricultural checkpoint is closed (there is no contact with the military to check if it opens rarely), the Ezbat Jaloud checkpoint was opened once a day before the war.
Updated for July 2024
Apr-11-2019Azoun: The main entrance to village blocked now for several weeks
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Habla
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Habla CP (1393)
The Habla checkpoint (1393) was established on the lands of the residents of Qalqilya, on the short road that
connected it for centuries to the nearby town of Habla. The separation barrier intersects this road twice and cut off the residents of Qalqilya from their lands in the seam zone.(between the fence and the green line).
There is a passage under Road 55 that connects Qalqilya to the sabotage This agricultural barrier is used by the farmers and nursery owners established along Road 55 from the Green Line and on both sides of the kurkar road leading to the checkpoint.
This agricultural checkpoint serves the residents of Arab a-Ramadin al-Janoubi (detached from the West Bank), who pass through it to the West Bank and back to their homes. The opening hours (3 times a day) of this agricultural checkpoint are longer than usual, about an hour (recently shortened to 45 minutes), and are coordinated with the transportation hours of a-Ramadin children studying in the occupied in the West Bank.Nina SebaApr-11-2019Habla checkpoint: the checkpoint is open.
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Habla CP (1393)
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Habla CP (1393)
The Habla checkpoint (1393) was established on the lands of the residents of Qalqilya, on the short road that
connected it for centuries to the nearby town of Habla. The separation barrier intersects this road twice and cut off the residents of Qalqilya from their lands in the seam zone.(between the fence and the green line).
There is a passage under Road 55 that connects Qalqilya to the sabotage This agricultural barrier is used by the farmers and nursery owners established along Road 55 from the Green Line and on both sides of the kurkar road leading to the checkpoint.
This agricultural checkpoint serves the residents of Arab a-Ramadin al-Janoubi (detached from the West Bank), who pass through it to the West Bank and back to their homes. The opening hours (3 times a day) of this agricultural checkpoint are longer than usual, about an hour (recently shortened to 45 minutes), and are coordinated with the transportation hours of a-Ramadin children studying in the occupied in the West Bank.Nina SebaApr-11-2019Habla checkpoint: the checkpoint is open.
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Oranit CP (1474)
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Oranit CP (1474) Oranit Checkpoint (4) (formerly 1474) An agricultural checkpoint in the separation wall serves the farmers of 'Azzun' Atma, whose land is in the seam zone near Oranit. Since the construction of the new wall in 2013. Was opened 3 times a day. Since 2018, the army has refused to open it except during the olive harvest. Since 2018, it has been opened only during the olive harvest and the farmers have to pass daily at the Beit Amin / Abu Salman checkpoint (1447). Fein Report from March 24, 2021: "The farmers from Beit Amin and Azzun Atma are happy that since last month the checkpoint has been open 3 times a day, at 6 in the morning, at 1 in the afternoon and at 4 in the afternoon. The farmers are really developing the place. "
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ramadin
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Ramadin and Arab al-Furijat, were established in the suburbs of Dahariya by Bedouins who came from the Be'er Sheva area after 1948. The village of Ramadin, numbers about 6,000 people, is located on the eastern side of the separation barrier. The checkpoint that was established at the entrance to the village (crossing by list only) to prevent passage to Israeli territory was removed in October 2007, and the road to the Meitar checkpoint leading to Israel is open.
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