Separation Barrier
According to a report in The Jerusalem Times on January 24, 1996, Israeli bulldozers began levelling 1.7 square kilometers (0.66 sq mi) land in Hiblah belonging to its Palestinian residents in order to build an electronic wall that would separate the towns of Tulkarm and Kalkiliya from the Green Line. That same day, a resident of Hiblah was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers who fired at Palestinians trying to stop the bulldozers. In February of the same year, it was reported that the security fence being built on Hibla's land would be 22 kilometers (14 mi) long and would separate the village from the Israeli settlement of Matti.
The construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier to the north of the village in the first decade of the 21st century changed the life of Habla's inhabitants. Palestinian labourers line up every day before 5am at gate no. 1393 in the barbed wire fence surrounding Habla. Manned by soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), they wait approximately two hours so as to enter the seam zone, a closed military zone, where they seek to tend to land that they own there or in nearby Qalqilya or to work in these areas as manual labourers.
All those entering the seam zone must have a valid "pass-permit" that allows them to leave and enter for work which is issued by the Israeli military authorities. Those with the proper pass permits who wish to access Qalqilya can drive 12 miles (19 km) around the barrier, through multiple checkpoints. Alternatively, they may use an underground tunnel that was built in 2004 to connect Habla to Qalqilya.
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