'Azzun 'Atma, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Thu 6.9.12, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
A large brush fire burning on the hillside in the often lawless area between the villages of Burin and Huwwara, while the settlement of Yitzhar sits comfortably on the hilltop.
We took a different route this time, from the village of Azzun, on Highway 55, south via the villages of Tulth and Beit Amin. On the secondary road we saw for the first time an ordinary road sign (in green) on which the names of the villages appeared only in Arabic and in English (may there be many more like it).
We arrived at the northern Azzun Atma checkpoint.
15:20 Northern Azzun Atma checkpoint/Gate 1459 – Israeli flags and banners of the military unit stationed here flap in the wind. We saw no soldiers; the crossing was open.
15:55 We passed to the northwest near the Barkan industrial area. Huge cranes indicate that construction continues apace.
16:00 Za’tara checkpoint – A soldier sits in the guard tower in the middle of the checkpoint. No soldiers at the inspection stations. Heavy traffic, primarily from Ramallah toward Nablus, returning home from the work week.
As usual, no one has prevented the settlers from hanging new signs on the checkpoint fence. An army jeep comes from Huwwara, followed by a police vehicle.
16:07 A military command car arrives from the direction of Huwwara.
16:20 Huwwara checkpoint– A soldier sits in the guard tower next to the plaza. We saw no soldiers at the checkpoint, nor at the settlers’ hitchhiking stations.
Smoke rises from the direction of Burin village
,
grows denser. You can see that the fire is
burning in several places, consuming the vegetation.
The exact location: the bottom of the hill between
the villages of Burin and Huwwara.
Higher up, on the hilltop, is one of the construction
outposts (which are scattered on a number of ridges)
of the Yitzhar settlement.
The location where the fire is burning was also mentioned in the report from 10.5.2012: ”We drove to the village of Burin to look into the incident of the40 trees belonging to the villagers that had been cut down two days earlier by settlers from Yitzhar. The residents pointed to the hill the settlers had taken over, but said it was dangerous to go there.”
17:00 Highway 60 - Two armed soldiers sit on the concrete bridge opposite the village of Madameh.
17:20 Anabta checkpoint – Vehicles go through without inspection. We saw no soldiers at the checkpoint.
17:30 Irtach checkpoint – We’re told the checkpoint is open from 04:00 until 19:00, and the laborers returning from Israel to Palestine aren’t inspected.