Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 20.7.08, Morning
Translation: Suzanne O.
Za'tara
7:40 a.m.
There are 48 vehicles in the queue at the west to east roadblock. A car driver at the front of the queue tells us that he has been waiting for an hour. The driver of a bus being inspected looks at his watch and tells us that he has been waiting for an hour and five minutes. The soldiers, reservists, tell us that the jam is due to a warning. They work quickly, they appear to be trying to cut down the long queue but they are hampered by those who are checking all the car registration numbers against a list and also because there is only one inspection lane.
8:05 a.m.
We called Shiri at the Centre, she promised to look into the problem.
Za'tara, the northern site
8:10 a.m.
There are a lot of soldiers, reservists. There is uneasiness and tension. Two jeeps are parked there and during our stay another jeep joined them. 2 majors are active, one of them comes up to us and offers to give us water if we are intending to stay long and we get thirsty.
Three inspection points are staffed.
A settler rushes up to the soldiers, breathing hard, claiming that she was standing at the junction when Palestinians came and shouted at her: We'll kidnap a Jew! She expects the soldiers to try and catch them, or at least guard her while she is at the junction. She claims to be afraid to stand there on her own. The soldiers listen to her and return to their positions. I go over and she requests: perhaps you wouldn't mind coming to stand with me; I'm frightened of standing there alone. When I don't respond she continues: you protect the Palestinians, why can't you protect me as well, I'm human too! When I ask her: what about them? She replies: they are savages!
A bus arrives. The passengers remain on board; their documents are taken to be inspected and are returned after a short while.
Drivers, crowding together north of the roadblock, have got out of their vehicles to wait. They tell us that they have been waiting for two hours.
Another female settler talks to the soldiers, we are unable to hear the conversation but see her leave the roadblock with an emphatic step and a face like thunder.
We count 23 vehicles from the roadblock northwards.
Beit Furik
8:50 a.m.
34 vehicles are in the queue. The turnstile is empty but about 8 pedestrians are walking towards it.
Awarta
9:00 a.m.
There are no vehicles at the entrance to the town; afterwards two lorries arrived. There are 2 lorries at the back-to-back area and 2 vehicles at the exit from Awarta.
Huwwara
9:10 a.m.
We are preceded by the ear-shattering wail of the magnometer.
There are about 30 people at the turnstiles. No one is inspecting vehicles at the entrance to Nablus and it is barred. Lieutenant Tareq of the DCO is present and we draw his attention to this fact. He explains this with the information that the soldiers are at present being briefed and, indeed, we see a group of soldiers sitting and listening to the commander. However, Tareq moves the barrier, inspects and sends cars through.
9:25 a.m.
Eran, the commander, comes over to us and lets us know that there is about to be an exercise and we should not be afraid.
9:30 a.m.
The exercise commences: soldiers with their weapons at the ready, run into the turnstiles ordering those standing there to move back behind the northern exit of the roadblock. We hear shocked and resentful voices from those crossing. People approaching the roadblock from Nablus are also redirected north to a distance of 20 – 30 metres from the roadblock. Those who were already at the turnstiles have to leave their bags there for a dog to sniff. Not a pleasant sight.
9:40 a.m.
We notice heavy traffic in the direction of Nablus. Apparently also the traffic going to Nablus was stopped while the exercise was taking place and now there are about 200 people here at the north, standing in the boiling hot sun, among them small children and a young woman holding a baby in her arms.
9:50 a.m.
We go over to T., and he does talk to the commander and try to get him to let the people through who are at the west of the roadblock. The commander, who is relatively new, hesitates but in the end agrees to T's request. And in a matter of minutes all those waiting cross and the lane towards Nablus empties.
10:05 a.m.
There are about 50 people at the turnstiles at the exit from Nablus.
10:15 a.m.
We leave the roadblock.
Za'tara
10:30 a.m.
There are 68 vehicles from the north. We called Nimrod at the Centre, he promised to look into the matter.
There are 23 vehicles from the west.
'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-RamatiNov-6-2025Awarta. Crossing the road towards the checkpoint
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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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