'Azzun 'Atma, Eliyahu Crossing, Habla, Huwwara, Mon 28.1.13, Morning

Place:

Huwwara

'Azzun 'Atma

Eliyahu Crossing

Habla

Observers:

Shoshana Z. Nina S. (reporting), Translator: Judith Green

Leave this field blank

Jan-28-2013

Morning

The children are still on vacation; at Huwwara there are inspections at the entrance to Nablus. There ia a change of opening hours at Habla. It is worth checking what goes on there in the afternoon/evening hours.

06:15 'Azzun 'Atma

People are arriving from the Tamar Gate to the road, they said that it opened on time. Outside the Gate, there are a lot of people and, as always, there are bonfires to warm the groups of people and a lot of cars waiting for their workers. The little coffee seller is accompanied this time by his 8-year old brother; their 10-year-old sister also arrives with another jug of coffee. They live along the road to the west of the checkpoint area, so, in order to get there, they have to walk along the road which isn't especially busy at this hour, but the cars traveling on it fly by at great speed.

There are about 70 people in line, but things are going very quickly. A number of people were permitted to go through the Gate and stand nearer to the inspection area, which makes the passage much faster. One man whose waiting time we checked from his arrival, went through in 15 minutes, which is actually record time for this place at this hour. The line continues to shorten and, by the time we left, there were only about 30 people in it.

07:10 Habla

Now they are just opening the gates info-icon . There is a change since yesterday in the opening hours, which are now 07:00 - 08:15, 13:00 – 14:00, 17:30 - 18:15 (45 minutes less). People were complaining to us especially about the evening hour, which is too late, as they want to get home before dark, and they finish work much earlier. Those going through told us that they didn't know about the changes and only found out on Friday. The soldiers said that there was a change because they had to open an addition gate, 1360. We went to find it, but it is apparently near Ras at Tira, in an area which we can't reach without our car. We tried to travel to the road which used to lead to Ras at Tira, but the number of the Gate there was different. The whole issue is being 0

The passage was very fast today, really amazing, more than double than usual; it seems that this is possible!

07:50 Eliyahu Gate

2 cars are being inspected and no pedestrians are in line.

08:20 Huwwara

Amazing! There are actually soldiers at the checkpoint and they are stopping and inspecting the vehicles entering Nablus. They said that they were looking for something. Every once in a while they move vehicles to an area closed by stakes in the road, check the documents and cars, and after about 3-5 minutes release them. While the vehicles or, more correctly, the documents are being inspected, the passengers get out and stand on the side.

The traffic circle at the entrance to Hawarra continues to be "improved", as we have already seen in Yehudit's photos. And we, of course, are paying for that. Now a few olive trees have been added, with thick trunks, certainly quite mature trees, and also expensive if one was to buy them. Can we assume they have been stolen?

09:00 Za'atra junction

We traveled from here mainly because of yesterday's "happenings" - in which Palestinians were supposedly caught with a pipe bomb. The area is quiet, no soldiers inspecting and no sign of what happened.

09:20 Entrance to Salfit from Ariel

When we arrive, the yellow gate is closed and there is no sign of life; we stopped nearby and then cars appeared from Salfit and at the guard station at the entrance to Ariel, 50 meters away, 2 soldiers appeared and asked us not to stand near the gate as we were bothering them. So, we moved a bit and then the soldiers returned to the Ariel guard station, from which they apparently used an electrical device to open the gates so that the cars could go through. Also the cars which now arrived from the main road simply entered without any inspection. So, there is long-distance control but, if everyone goes in anyway, what is the sense of closing the gate?

Location Description

Eliyahu Crossing

See all reports for this place

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 Tzufin, 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.

Huwwara - the checkpoint and the township

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 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

View the full album

Activity with Palestinian women and children in the West Bank

See all reports for this place

Study Groups and Creativity Projects with Women, Adolescents, and Children

In the course of the years, connections with Palestinian women have been formed at the checkpoints and in villages in the West Bank. These meetings have engendered a desire for communal activity. At the first meeting in a community center in one of the villages we decided to begin with physical activity: exercise, yoga and also the study of languages: English and Hebrew. Following this, we added several courses in art and handicrafts. These activities received very positive reactions and they expanded to other villages. The groups multiplied and were extended to adolescents and children, boys and girls. There is great interest in this project, participants come regularly, invest a lot of energy and study with pleasure. In this way, in an atmosphere of goodwill and enjoyment, the relations between us deepen and become more significant. This provides the women and the children and adolescents with an opportunity to meet Israelis who are not threatening in any way and express a desire to live together in peace. For us, it is an opportunity to learn more intimately about village life and about the challenges facing the Palestinian woman in her community. This activity is, in itself, a response the efforts of the Israeli government to create a sharp and total division between Israelis and Palestinians. Press here for a full description of these activities.

Hoda kindergarten

In 2010, while on a trip to southeast Hebron Hills, we came upon Hoda kindergarten in the village of Hashem el Daraj. The kindergarten was situated in a small concrete structure with a tin roof, without electricity or running water; it served 15-40 children between the ages of three and six. The village is in C area, that is under Israeli rule, but it receives no support, neither from Israel nor from the Palestinian Authority. Very shortly after our first visit, we initiated educational activity in the kindergarten, including arts and crafts, music, and social activity. We were assisted by an Arab woman educator and the Bedouin driver (who was paid for his services and also served as an interpreter). In 2012 the kindergarten moved to a spacious structure, built with financial assistance from UNRWA, and was provided with running water and electricity. Gradually warm and heartfelt relations were formed both with the children and with Hoda and her assistant. For pictures of this project press here.

Fun and Sea for Palestinian children in the summer

Starting in 2007, every summer about 1500 children from the West Bank are taken to the seashore in Tel Aviv. This is a project carried out by Machsomwatch, executed by four women. The children are accompanied by adults and are given a warm welcome and hospitality. A large group of volunteers and donors make this project possible, allowing it to expand and flourish. If you go to our Blog and Facebook you will be able to learn more about these activities and to get a feeling of the experience that this provides for all participants. You are all invited to join us the summers to come.

Azun-Atma

See all reports for this place

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.

The main entrance to Azoun village: blocked now for several weeks

Apr-12-2019

Azoun: The main entrance to village blocked now for several weeks

View the full album