Al Nashshash

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Junction on Road 60 from leading to the southern outskirts of al-Khader, to Salomon pools and to Bethlehem. Until 2015, a blockade at the junction prevented the passage of vehicles from the south (from Hebron) to Bethlehem and from there to the north of the West Bank and vice versa, and a small market developed at the junction, with taxis serving both directions on two sides of the blockage. Until 2015, Members of MachsomWatch police reports team would come to the scene to receive and return traffic violations reports for payment (possible only in Israel).- from Palestinians without a entrance permit to Israel. There is usually no military or police supervision i n place.

Nabi Yunis

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A meeting place at the junction of Route 60 and the road leading to the eastern entrance to Hebron.

Bethlehem (300)

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Located adjacent to the Separation Wall ("Jerusalem Wrap") at the north entrance to Bethlehem, this checkpoint cuts off Bethlehem and the entire West Bank from East Jerusalem, with all the serious implications for health services, trade, education, work and the fabric of life. The checkpoint is manned by the Border police and private security companies. It is an extensive infrastructure barrier and is designated as a border terminal, open 24 hours a day for foreign tourists. Israeli passport holders are not allowed to pass to Bethlehem, and Palestinian residents are not allowed to enter Jerusalem, except those with entry permits to Israel and East Jerusalem residents. Israeli buses are allowed to travel to Bethlehem only through this checkpoint.

The checkpoint, which demonstrated harsh conditions of crowding and extreme passage delays for years, started employing advanced electronic identification posts and has upgraded its gates info-icon

' system as of the middle of 2019 - and conditions improved.

Adjacent to the checkpoint, in an enclosure between high walls and another passage, is the historic Rachel's Tomb, which is now embedded within a concrete fortified building. It contains prayer and study complexes for Jews only, as well as a residential complex.

updated November 2019

Beit Ummar

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the Gush Etzion-Hebron road - which is the main axis of the southern Hebron Mountains - passes through the boundaries of the village. Many incidents of stone throwing occurred on this section of road. There is a checkpoint at the entrance to the village.

In March 2006, a 25-dunam land seizure order was issued around the settlement for the purpose of establishing a "special security area" (SHBM) and a warning fence around the nearby settlement, Carmei Tzur. In April 2019, 401 dunams of the land of the villages of Beit Omer and Halhul were expropriated for the purpose of paving a road that bypasses the house of Omer to the east. Demonstrations are held by the villagers against the seizure of land with the participation of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists.

Huwwara - the checkpoint and the township

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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 today is free, but there is still a military presence in the guard tower and vehicle inspections are done from time to time.

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)

Feb-29-2024

Nina Seba

Huwara checkpoint - the gate is closed

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Etzion DCO

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serves residents of Bethlehem and surrounding villages who need magnetic cards, work permits for Israel, permits for one-time entry for religious or health reasons, various police permits, etc.

Al Nashshash, Beit Ummar, Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Huwwara, Nabi Yunis, Mon 30.11.09, Morning

Huwara checkpoint - the gate is closed