Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 12.10.08, Afternoon
Translation: Tal H.
15:00 Both entrances to Marda village are open.
15:05 Tapuach/Zaatara Junction Checkpoint – nearly empty of waiting vehicles.
Shooting post unmanned.
15:15 Huwwara Checkpoint
DCO rep. – Mohanned, CP commander – ?
3 active checking posts, active x-ray truck, active detector-dog and trainer from 16:30 on.
The minute Judit assumes her usual observation point across the vehicle checking lane, the commander approaches her, requires her to show her ID and assures her he is summoning the police (which did not arrive, at least not for her).
The special side line for women and the elderly is relatively speedy. At the men's waiting lines, even if not too crowded during our first hour there, progress is quite slow.
15:40 A driver, after having his vehicle inspected for 10 minutes, is required to lift his car on its 'jack', dismantle one of the tires and take it to the x-ray truck for inspection.
16:40 A civilian policeman sporting a typical 'settler yarmulka' joins the first pedestrian checking post and actually participates in the inspections, later joining the exiting vehicles' inspections alongside the dog trainer and soldiers.
16:50 A fight break out inside one of the pedestrian waiting lines. The entire checking process is halted. Soldiers stand aside, not interfering. Yelling increases, blows exchanged. The soldiers enter the lines, catch the main rivals – later we hear that one of them wanted to push his way forward and not await his turn – and push them over to the hold. The boy who started it all is handcuffed and body searched. In the meantime soldiers push all the men back further and further until they are outside the shed altogether.
Suddenly we hear very loud yelling from the soldiers: "Get back already!!!" and then
a shot. We hear the commander himself, shouting in alarm while running over to join them: "Who fired live??!!"
17:00 the waiting pedestrians are all allowed to resume their lines and inspections are on again. The commander unloads the soldier's gun right next to and above the special side line. So close that an elderly Palestinian is startled while passing and having to duck as he nearly runs into the unexpected obstacle.
Beit Furik Checkpoint
Observers: Judit B., Noa P. reporting
16:30 Upon our arrival, the checkpoint commander approaches us and tells us to leave because this is 'closed military zone'. We said no problem, we'll comply if he shows us an official written order. He makes a phone call, and after speaking with someone, turns away without further words.
16:45 A tractor with platform attached approaches the checkpoint Nablus-bound, carrying about ten mostly elderly women and three men. The commander approaches the inspecting soldiers and tells them to wait: "I'll do the selection, to see who passes through the pedestrian checking post". He points to two women and a man who get off the platform, do the pedestrian checking process and join the tractor later on. All this while in Huwwara, people entering Nablus are not required to go through any checking at all.
Throughout our shift here, there are very few pedestrians in both directions, and hardly any vehicles.
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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