Al Funduq' Arab ar Ramadin, 'Azzun, Eliyahu Crossing, Habla, Huwwara, Jayyus, Nabi Elyas, Shomron Crossing, Za'tara (Tapuah), Wed 14.3.12, Afternoon

Place:

Za'tara (Tapuah)

Huwwara

'Azzun

Shomron Crossing

Eliyahu CP (109) / Crossing

Habla

Jayyus North (935)

Tags:

Guided Tours

Observers:

A guest from Holland. KarinL. and Shoshi A. (reporting)

Mar-14-2012

Afternoon

Translator: Hanna K.

13:00 Habla. The gate has been opened on time. Trucks pass, as well as horse drawn carts, tenders and pedestrians. There is a lively traffic in both directions. With us next to the gate there also is an English language tour of MW. We notice that there is a greater than usual number of soldiers and a military hummer which entered the area and left again several times.

A young Palestinian tells us that he has finished his university studies but has no chance of finding a job. He will have to go to Saudi Arabia or to one of the emirates and try his luck there.

A big agricultural vehicle left the village and was checked quickly. A cart owner with his horse arrives. "What do you have under the heap of grass? iron? aluminium?" The cart is checked meticulously and the man is allowed to pass (the soldier explains that if his cargo would have been metal he would have to pass by the Eliyahu crossing).

13:30 We leave, although the children's bus hasn't passed yet. We turn to Alfey Menashe settlement for a tour on the prospering and well-groomed settlement and from there, for comparison, to Arab Ar-Ramadin. The children get off the bus they smile and are happy to welcome the visitors.

14:00 Eliyahu crossing. The gardening job advances with vigor. The workmen are from Jayyus. As usual we are politely sent away. From all directions security people dash towards us with the usual questions: Who are you? What are you looking for? You have no right to be here. We smile and continue on our way, crossing the road with the attached security escort. Palestinian cars are being checked on the right hand lane (in the direction of Samaria).

14:15 Through Nabi Elyas we turn right to Azzun and from there to Jayyus. We stop at the taxi station. Our friend N' isn't there but his friend comes out to us. He tells us that the situation is very bad indeed. People don't have money, so they don't take taxis. Once there were 150 owners of work permits in Israel, and today there are only 15. The others sit at home. The money which they receive from the Palestinian authority runs out after the first week of the month. A Saturday tour in a taxi is a luxury they cannot afford anymore.

14:40 We return to Road 55 to Al Funduq, and through Emmanuel settlement to the Za'tara/Tapuah Junction where we notice no special activity.

15:25 Huwwara CP – there is traffic without hindrance in both directions. We grab a quick falafel at Huwwara and back to Tel Aviv as Karin and Daphne have an appointment in Jerusalem regarding the film they are preparing about the Jordan Valley.

16:00 The Samaria crossing – there are queues in all the lanes but the traffic flows. A car with a Palestinian number plate is delayed for checking.

Location Description

'Azzun

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Azoun (updated February 2019)

A Palestinian town situated in Area B (under civil Palestinian control and Israeli security control),

on road 5 between Nablus and Qalqiliya, east of Nabi Elias village. The inhabitants are allowed to construct and improve infrastructures. The Separation Fence has confiscated lands belonging to the town's people. In 2018 olive tree groves owned by one of its inhabitants were confiscated for the sake of paving a road to bypass Nabi Elias. Azoun population numbers 13,000, its economic state dire. Its infrastructures are poor, neglect and poverty rampant. In the meantime, the town council has completed paving an internal road for the inhabitants' welfare.

Because of its proximity to the Jewish settler-colony of Karnei Shomron and its outposts, the town suffers the intense presence of the Israeli army, especially at nighttime: soldiers enter homes, arrest suspects, trash the house and sometimes ruin it, as they do in numerous places in the West Bank. At times a checkpoint closes the entrance to the town, so no one can come in or get out.

Za'tara (Tapuah)

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Za'tara (Tapuah)

Za'tara is an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, at the intersection of Road 60 and Road 505 (Trans-Samaria), east of the Tapuah settlement.
This checkpoint is the "border" marked by the IDF between the north and south of the West Bank, in accordance with the policy of separation between the two parts of the West Bank that has been in place since December 2005.

At the Za'tara checkpoint, there are separate routes for Israelis and Palestinians. In the route for Israelis, there are no inspections and the route for Palestinians inspects. The queue lengthens and shortens suits.

The checkpoint is open 24 hours a day. The checkpoint is partially staffed and the people who pass through it are checked at random.

Sep-28-2023

Shoshi Anbar

Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs

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Eliyahu CP (109) / Crossing

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Eliyahu CP (109) / Crossing

This checkpoint, also known as the Fruit Crossing, is one of the main checkpoints between Israel and the West Bank.
It is located on Route 55 between Alfei Menashe and the turn to Qalqilya and Zufin, more than 4 km east of the Green Line, in the separation fence, which separates Qalqilya from its lands to the south, thus leaving Alfei Menashe West of the fence - the Seam Zone.
This checkpoint, a few kilometers across the Green Line, is intended for "Israeli settlement in the West Bank and the population of the Seam Zone."
It is managed by a civil company. Palestinians with a special permit for their lands in the seam area info-icon are also allowed to pass through it, on foot, and sometimes by car.

Shomron Crossing

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Shomron Crossing

The Shomron checkpoint for vehicles. is located east of Rosh HaAyin and Kafr Qassem, on Road 5 (Trans-Samaria) leading to Ariel and the Za'atara junction. It is intended for blue ID cardholders, foreign guests or diplomats, and international organizations only. In 2009 the management was entrusted to a civil security company.

Nov-10-2008

Nava Eisen

Shomron crossing checkpoint 23.10.08

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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 info-icon 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 info-icon 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)

Jul-24-2024

Fathiya Akfa

Huwara: The hill east of Givat Ronen is burnt

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