Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), יום א’ 13.7.08, בוקר
Translation: Suzanne O.
Za'atra
6:45 a.m.
There is one car from the west and a small number of vehicles from the north, however, as we continue on in the direction of Huwwara, more vehicles turn up and the number rises to 27.
Beit Furiq
7:10 a.m.
One car is in the queue. There are some 10 pedestrians at the turnstile who are inspected speedily. There are no additional people at the other side of the roadblock.
Awarta
There is one lorry at the entrance and 10 in the queue at the exit from the town. There are no lorries at the back to back. Ziad complains about the low number of lorries at the back to back, lately they prefer to go to Sha'ar Efraim which causes him, and those like him who haul goods, to lose business.
Huwwara
7:40 a.m.
There are about 20 people at the turnstiles. It is quiet, even the military policewomen do not raise their voices. The full equipment is present: x-ray machine; dog handler and the whole procedure of removing belts and putting them on again. The commander, D., comes over to us, wanting to talk. He tells us that early this morning it was very busy.
8:20 a.m.
We got reports about problems at Azon Atma and started to drive there. However, just then we received information about an attack on Palestinian shepherds at the west of Huwwara roadblock, we therefore turned back and took the road to Bracha. A number of Palestinians were gathered there, a few internationals, the border police and the civilian police. It turns out that they came because of another problem: a Palestinian came over to us and told us that he and his children were picking almonds in their grove when settlers arrived and threw stones at his children and his donkey.
A border policeman, who did not like our presence there, demanded to see Yael's ID card. She refused and informed him that only a civilian policeman is permitted to make such a demand. He claimed that the policeman was busy and asked him to demand her documents. Obviously Yael did not show them. A major was present and we wanted to hear what he had to say about the incident, but he was busy talking on the phone and then talking to a settler – we were unable to hear what they said. Meanwhile the Palestinians continued on their way to the grove, accompanied by internationals. We spoke to a soldier who promised that the army would now guard the pickers. We did not hear about the incident with the shepherds, they had already left by the time we got there.
9:00 a.m.
We tried to go to Azon Atma, which we had tried to do early this morning, but we were still unable to find it. Meanwhile there were no more calls for help from there.
Sha'ar Shomron
10:10 a.m.
A group of about 20 Palestinians is led by soldiers from the Israeli side of the road to the other side.
'Awarta
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Awarta, an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, is located east of the Hawara checkpoint, at the junction of Roads 555 (which was forbidden for Palestinian traffic in this area) and the entrance road to Nablus. It was one of the four checkpoints that surrounded Nablus until 2009. We used to watch it at Huwwara shifts because it was the only one where goods could be transferred to and from Nablus, using the back-to-back method. It was operated by the army, from 06:00 to 20:00. Until 2009.
Ronit Dahan-RamatiApr-23-2026Awarta Checkpoint is empty
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Beit Furik checkpoint
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One of the three internal checkpoints that closed on the city of Nablus - Beit Furik to the east, Hawara to the south, Beit Iba to the west. The checkpoint is located at the junction of Roads 557 (an apartheid road that was forbidden for Palestinians), leading to the Itamar and Alon Morea settlements and Road 5487. The checkpoint was established in 2001 for pedestrians and vehicles; The opening hours were short and the transition was slow and very problematic.Allegedly, the checkpoint is intended to monitor the movement to and from Nablus of the residents of Beit Furik and Beit Dajan, being the only opening outside their villages. Since May 2009 the checkpoint is open 24 hours a day, the military presence is limited, vehicles can pass through it without inspections, except for random inspections. (Updated April 2010)
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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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Za'tara (Tapuah)
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Za'tara (Tapuah) Za'tara 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 Tapuah 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'tara 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.
Shoshi AnbarSep-27-2023Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
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