Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 12.11.09, Morning
Translation: Suzanne O.
From 6:40 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.
The roadblocks are present to show the Israeli army's control of the Palestinian area. Palestinian pedestrians can only be seen in the streets of their villages and while they await their Israeli employees in the early mornings.
Cars in Za'atra, Huwwara and Beit Furiq drive through with absolutely no hindrance, a nod of the head by the soldier at the checkpoint signals a glance into the car and permission to drive on. The roadblock prerequisite is operational: the driver slows down as he arrives, he doesn't know if he will be inspected or not. Whoever has learned that a complete halt is not necessary, or who 'dares' to continue driving as if he has rights is re-educated by being sent to the back, to come to a complete halt and only then to continue.
While we were there, there was no build up of vehicles at any of the roadblocks we visited.
In this case we went to meet people in the villages and heard that they were being prevented from cultivating their land because of proximity to the settlements. The roads are full of banners proclaiming the commemoration of Kahana's death, 'the war is with the Arabs', 'no u-turns will be made'. All the banners are written in pure Hebrew. Yes, and we also saw banners proclaiming a festive welcome for the 'heroic' soldiers who declared that they will not evacuate Chomesh.
At 10:00 a.m., we passed by Za'atra again. When we arrived two checkpoints were functioning and cars drove through almost without hindrance. Apart from those the soldiers decided to inspect, both cars and passengers. Perhaps because of this there were about 30 cars in the queue at the roadblock. In the car park there was a Palestinian minibus whose passengers waited outside it. About a minute or two later ID cards were returned to the passengers and the vehicle continued on its way.
In a conversation which developed between us and the soldiers we heard the following things: 'according to the Jewish religion it is forbidden to drink coffee with an Arab because when you leave he will stick a knife into your back'; 'this is our land and 'they' should not be here'; 'people from different places have things in common but it is less so with Arabs' and a quote: ' we are doing them a favour by letting them cross'. (Question) 'What do you expect?' (Answer) 'That they stay home and keep a low profile'.
The queue disappeared after an additional bus was sent to the car park for inspection and immediately went on its way; we too drove on feeling angry, frustrated and fearful of the future here.
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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