‘Awarta, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), יום א’ 17.5.09, בוקר
Translation: Suzanne O.
Za'atra
7:25 a.m.
There is no traffic from the west, from the north there are 6 vehicles.
Huwwara
7:45 a.m.
On our arrival the car park is almost empty, later on it fills up.
Most of the time there is a flow of pedestrians into Nablus – not particularly heavy.
We stand at the roadblock, near the checkpoints, no one sends us away, and the Military Policewomen even smile at us.
At the turnstiles: 2 checkpoints function in addition to the humanitarian lane.
There are about 15 people at the turnstiles, later on it rises to 25 and by the time we leave there are 5.
It seems to us that there is someone in the cell, therefore we go to the vehicle area and try to approach the cell on its western side from there. The roadblock commander, a 2nd lieutenant paratrooper, comes over to us and says, through his teeth, you can stand there if you want but I will call the police who will immediately come and arrest you. When we ask if we are, or are not, allowed to stand there he replies that we know very well that we are not allowed to be in the area at all. When he realises that his words do not particularly impress us, he and other soldiers with him start to photograph us.
Obviously he is not prepared to answer our questions as to whether there is a detainee in the cell. A friendly Military Police sergeant tells us that there is no detainee.
There are 5 vehicles at the exit from Nablus. A minibus is inspected. Its driver alights. The rest of the passengers remain in the vehicle. The officer and a few other soldiers gather round the driver, we are unable to hear their conversation. Within 5 minutes the bus continues on its way.
9:00 a.m.
A young man comes over to us in the car park and claims that lately a Border Police jeep has driven several times on the Palestinian road between Huwwara and Awarta; the soldiers stopped Palestinian vehicles, ordered girls to alight, unzipped their trousers and urinated in front of the girls. Other young men confirmed what he said.
We agreed that if he should be present at a similar incident he will note down the registration number of the vehicle and report it to us immediately. We also requested that the afternoon shift go to the spot.
Awarta
10:00 a.m. approx.
We drove to Awarta via Huwwara village (so that we could pass by the place the young man told us that the incidents with the Border Police took place). There are 5 vehicles
Za'atra
10:30 a.m. approx.
There are 5 vehicles from the north; there is no traffic 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-RamatiApr-23-2026Awarta Checkpoint is empty
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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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