‘Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 20.8.09, Afternoon
Two days before Ramadan. A very hot day.
13.50 Tractors work energetically and massively so as to change the ground in the industrial area of Barkan.
13.55 The entrance to Zeita is closed 
14.02 Checkpoint of Za'tara. 2 soldiers at the sentry area next to the circle. 2 checking areas for cars from the north are manned, Cars do not stop and there is no pressure.
14.15 Before the checkpoint of Huwwara at the entrance to the parking lot where one pays a blue police car and a policeman takes details from drivers who have been involved in an accident between two cars with orange license plates from Israel.
14.17 Huwwara checkpoint. There is considerable traffic in both directions. 2 soldiers on guard in the direction of Huwwara. Some times a line is formed and then disappears. It is also caused because of commercial vehicles which are sent back and have to return to Huwwara. From there on a crooked road in the direction of Awarta and from there to the checkpoint of Awarta which is the only place where commercial goods cango through because the direct road, the Madison road, is an apartheid road on which it is forbidden for the local people to travel or because a car with Israeli plates has to park in the parking lot at the checkpoint. There are comparatively many such cars probably because of the Ramadan holiday.
The checkpoint itself has two manned posts for checking cars. Here too a line sometimes forms from the same reason as given above because of commercial cars which are sent to Awarta or because some other car has been detained as we saw. For some reason the car is not allowed to leave Nablus and has to return. We were too far away to find out why. We did not see a dogtrainer and dog.
14.40 Awarta. 4 trucks from Awarta wait to be checked before entering Nablus.
14.40 Beit Furik. Few cars. No delays.
The cement sign at the entrance to the checkpoint has undergone changes. At first there is a notice on it: This place is meant for Machsomwatch. The sign has been erased and in its place in colour appears a wolf, after that the mantra of Nachman Meuman is written on it and then again in colour the picture of a geisha ( there is a picture).
The commander who the previous time had explained to us the importance of the checkpoint in preventing harm to the neighboring settlements (Eitemar and Alon Moreh) and so in fact ratified the fact that this is the reason for these checkpoints in these areas which are far from the Israeli border. He said that the previous week a powder charge had been found atAwarta. We says that this could have been something sent through by the secret service to test the soldiers.
14.55 At the checkpoint of Awarta 3 trucks from Nablus wait to be checked and from the direction of Awarta is one truck. On the way back we take note of the lively traffic of cars today.
15.12 At Za'tara a long line of cars. The drivers do not know that there is no checking. One cannot make out that the soldiers are present at the post and to know if it is allowed or forbidden to go through and from habit they wait for orders. We inform the centre of this and received a promise to speak to the DCO so that the drivers should know that it is possible to go through.
'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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