The Huwwara checkpoint or Huwara checkpoint or Hawara checkpoint ( ar, حاجز حوارة, he, מחסום חווארה, ''Makhsom Hawara'') is a major

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

checkpoint at one of the four main exits of

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

. It is located south of the city. It was established on October 2000. The facility was named after the nearby village of

Huwara Huwara ( ar, حُوّارة, ''ḥuwwarah'', ) is a Palestinian town located in the Nablus Governorate of the northern West Bank, south of Nablus, on the main road connecting Nablus southwards to Ramallah and Jerusalem. It is approximately fr ...

History

In 2002, the checkpoint was open from morning to evening. Later, it remained open 24 hours a day. All vehicles were required to have special permits and be searched. In 2008, renovations were carried out to ease the overcrowding.Renovations of notorious Hawara checkpoint meant to benefit soldiers and Palestinians
/ref> Conditions at Hawara were relaxed in July 2009. The checkpoint was opened to allow pedestrians to cross freely without being searched. Palestinian vehicles have sometimes faced only random inspections. In 2011, Israeli newspapers reported that the IDF would remove the checkpoint. According to the Palestinian human rights organization

Al-Haq Al-Haq () is an independent Palestinian human rights organization based in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank. Founded in 1979, Al-Haq monitors and documents human rights violations committed by parties to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict ...

, the checkpoint is still in use as of 2014.''Palestinians Suffer Ill-Treatment at Huwwara Checkpoint''
Al-Haq, 12 December 2013 According to

Btselem B'Tselem ( he, בצלם, , " in the image of od) is a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization whose stated goals are to document human rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, combat any denial of the existence of su ...

, the checkpoint is infrequently in use.

Violent incidents

On March 24, 2004 a 16-year-old,

Hussam Abdo Hussam Muhammad Bilal Abdo (Arabic: حسام محمد بلال عبده; born 24 February 1990) is a Palestinian from the Masahiya area of Nablus, who, as a teenager, made international headlines on 24 March 2004, when he entered the Hawara Checkp ...

tried to pass through the checkpoint wearing an

explosive belt An explosive belt (also called suicide belt or a suicide vest) is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers. Explosive belts are usually packed with ball bearings, ...

strapped to his body in an attempted

suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

. In May 2005, a 15-year-old was arrested at the checkpoint with two pipe bombs inside a black bag, apparently instructed to give them to someone in Israel. In November 2007, two Palestinian teenagers were detained for interrogation after they were found to be carrying three bombs. A sapper detonated them without incident.Youths with bombs stopped at Hawara
/ref> In September 2008, a Palestinian woman threw acid in a soldier's face, leaving him blind in one eye.

References

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History

Violent incidents

See also

References