Huwwara
Huwwara. 20 September 2005 Watchers: Yael P., Nurit V., and Liriet L.L. (reporting)8:10 a.m.Everything is as usual. Everyday humiliations: nothing special. Beside the roadblock the dog handlers stand a man in a suit behind the humanitarian point, or, in Hebrew, the toilets, so that he cannot see their usual aggressive check of his car. The car is beautifully kept and is obviously important to its owner, as is his respectable appearance. The dog is put in the car three times! Each time they tear open a bag to help him to sniff properly. They lift upholstery and move articles crudely. “It’s no good like this,” he says to me in English, “take a photograph.” I explain to him that I will report it but if I get a camera out near the dog they will move me on. He does not understand. He is disappointed with me. As is well known, the dog is a most secret weapon; it appears that it is at the very least the Chief of Staff in disguise. Any camera in close proximity to it makes a group of soldiers rush to threaten us and not allow photographs to be taken. After waiting about twenty minutes he is allowed to return to his violated car. When he sounds his horn at a bus blocking his way, he is shouted at: “What’s your hurry? Calm down, wait a minute…”9:00 a.m.A border policeman full of his own importance leads a group of taxi drivers to the detainees hut. They were parked in the wrong place. “So why are they here, to be punished?” I ask. “Certainly not, do I look like a judge? They simply need to be checked.” After a few minutes he drives away. We try to find out who is responsible for things now. It appears that no one is. A., the roadblock commander, says that he just let the border police use the spot for their own means (just so) but it is nothing to do with him. But they have left, I insist. “What do you want? Jews are being shot at so they had to go.” He makes some enquiries on his walkie-talkie and takes responsibility. When I ask if they are being checked he says: “No, they will be held up for a bit and then we’ll release them.” “What is that, punishment?” “No, they deserve it.” (Vive la difference). When he goes to release them he does it with an educational lecture. “…be quiet when I am speaking, it’s like someone pissing in your garden, how would you feel? Eh? I am the commander of the roadblock and you are interfering with my work. It’s a shame, you make us do stupid things, drive us mad.”9:40 a.m.They are released.9:30 a.m.A lorry driver who drove on a road Palestinians are not allowed to use (of course there is no sign acknowledging the fact, which enables the generals to refute the claim on television). He knew it was forbidden but he was told it was clear and he took pity on his vehicle (the permitted road is not paved) and also wanted to take a short cut. He too gets a lecture and is released after a half an hour.10:00 a.m.More taxi drivers join in, the same story. They say to Nurit: “Yes, we know it’s forbidden but we are Arabs. We try. Whoever is nearest to the roadblock gets more passengers and makes a better living. It’s worth the chance.”The roadblock commander instructs his soldiers to check everyone who has a bag or who looks suspicious on the way into Nablus, so today there are a lot of checks for those going into Nablus as well, there has been a warning, that’s what they say.We check the situation of the stallholders. They tell us that they have not been sent away for five, six days. When I ask why, I am told by one of them that it depends on the soldiers – sometimes they just send us away, sometimes they overturn the stall and throw the merchandise on the ground.A man who has been refused a magnetic card asks for help. I am helped on the telephone by Naomi Lalo and try to pass the information on to him later; however, I am unable to get hold of him.
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 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 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)
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Shoshi AnbarMay-18-2025Huwara: The old houses in Area C
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