'Azzun 'Atma, Huwwara, Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim), Za'tara (Tapuah), Sat 3.7.10, Morning

שתפו:

מקום או מחסום:

Za'tara (Tapuah)

Huwwara

Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)

'Azzun 'Atma

צופות ומדווחות:

Natalie C., Ruti R.

03/07/2010

בוקר

Translation: Suzanne O.

10:30 a.m.

We exited from Road 5 into Kfar Kasem. It is immediately clear that we are in an Arab village - there are no pavements. We drove along the length of the village and continued along the bumpy road the length of the fence, the one with the lookout tower, to Azun Atma.

We were not stopped and we saw no soldiers.

Azun Atma roadblock

10:45 a.m.

A woman and a youth enter, an elderly man on a donkey exits. A soldier looks through his bags and they talk, it looks like a Saturday morning chat. We saw three soldiers outside and one in the room. The duty unit's flag (Search and Rescue) flies on the flagpole.

Arta/Sha'ar Ephraim roadblock

11:00 a.m.

Civilian police inspect the traffic entering the territories including driving licences and ID cards. There are also a lot of Border Police soldiers as well as armed civilians (a security company?).

We saw no cars queuing.

Za'atra/Tapuach Junction

11:50 a.m.

There are no traffic hold ups. Soldiers look but do not stop anyone. We waited for a few minutes and then moved on.

We took two hitchhikers to Huwwara - an Arabic teacher and a labourer who works in Oranit. The teacher, from Silfit, spoke excellent English; he didn't say a lot but invited us to his home.

The labourer is happy with his job; it doesn't bother him working on a settlement. He asked for the donation of a computer for his children, something old that maybe someone is changing...

We gave out visiting cards, just in case.

We promised to search for a used computer.

Huwwara roadblock

12:10 p.m.

It is pleasant here today too.

The soldiers appear relaxed.

We didn't see any hold-ups; the inspections are random and quick.

At the entrance to Nablus there is also a civilian police jeep.

We saw many cars with Israeli number plates going into Nablus.

There are 4 soldiers at the exit, we also saw lorries leaving from here today.

1:00 p.m.

We drove via Punduk and Jit. We didn't see anything in particular.

תיאור המקום

Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)

להצגת כל הדוחות ממקום זה

The checkpoint is for Palestinians only. It is the main barrier to the passage of workers from the northern West Bank to Israel.
Workers with a permit to work in Israel and also for trade (with appropriate permissions), medicine, and visiting prisoners.
One can cross the checkpoint only on foot. The checkpoint is located north of Road 557 and south of Tulkarm. Operated by a civil security company, opening hours: between 4:00 and 19:00 on weekdays.
As members of Machsom Watch, we began our shifts to this location in 2007.
We arrived before it opened at 4 in the morning and report since, on the harsh conditions and the long and crowded queues of workers. The workers who pass by continue their journey by transportation to work throughout Israel.

In the first period of its activity, about 3,000 and then 5,000 people passed through this checkpoint every day. Due to the small number of checking points and arbitrary delays for long periods of time in the "rooms", workers feared losing their transportation.
Hence workers leave their homes at 2:30 at night to be among the first. Today, 15,000 pass and the transition is faster. Workers are still leaving their homes very early to get past the checkpoint at 7 p.m.

In an adjacent compound, there is a terminal for the transfer of goods on a commercial scale, using the back-to-back method.

Za'tara (Tapuah) Checkpoint

להצגת כל הדוחות ממקום זה

Za'atara 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 Tapuach 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'atara 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.

28/09/2023

Shoshi Anbar

זעתרא (צומת תפוח). שלטים

הצג את האלבום המלא

Huwwara - the checkpoint and the township

להצגת כל הדוחות ממקום זה

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)

29/02/2024

Nina Seba

מחסום חווארה - השער סגור

הצג את האלבום המלא

Activity with Palestinian women and children in the West Bank

להצגת כל הדוחות ממקום זה

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

להצגת כל הדוחות ממקום זה

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

12/04/2019

עזון: הכניסה הראשית לכפר עזון: חסומה כבר מספר שבועות

הצג את האלבום המלא

חזרה לדף חיפוש דוחות

'Azzun 'Atma, Huwwara, Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim), Za'tara (Tapuah), Sat 3.7.10, Morning

זעתרא (צומת תפוח). שלטים

מחסום חווארה - השער סגור

עזון: הכניסה הראשית לכפר עזון: חסומה כבר מספר שבועות