Beit Furik, Huwwara, Ma’ale Efrayim, Tayasir, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sat 23.7.11, Morning
Ilil N.B. translating
10:00 Za’atra (Tapuah) Checkpoint
Deep within the parking lot, we see a Palestinian woman sitting, and, next to her, two Border Policemen. We enter. Turns out there are three GSS-delayed people, who were apprehended at 07:45 (according to the full Border Police report). They are separated from each other and are not permitted to speak amongst themselves, and definitely not with us. One is sitting in a tiny angular metal hut, another between concrete barricades, and the woman (who is pregnant) on a chair under the pillbox.
“Isn’t he boiling in there?” We ask the soldiers, referring to the man in the hut, whose tiny windows are all closed.
“No, it’s open at the top.” Indeed, there’s a wide space between the walls and the ceiling.
Border Police are holding the green ID cards and filling out reports. They don’t know why they’re delaying these people, they’re just “carrying out orders.” Who are they waiting for? They don’t want to say. Don’t talk to us or bother us, they warn, or we’ll call the police. We called Hanna, and she, in her untold ways, immediately set on finding out what was going on.
10:45 Huwarra Checkpoint
There are no soldiers on the road and no pillboxes. We go through till the exit to Beit Furik.
11:00 Beit Furik Checkpoint
Empty of soldiers.
11:45 Za’atra (Tapuah) again
We’re stopped at a line of 25 cars. It takes us 4 minutes to get to the 2 Border Policemen who’d slowed down the traffic, examining cars and sometimes stopping them. At this moment, there are two delayed cars: a civil policeman is writing a ticket for a Palestinian headed to Jericho whose back seat has 4, instead of three, passengers (two mothers and two infants). The three GSS-delayed people are out of our sight. Were they released? Taken away? [Hanna says the former].
12:10 Ma’ale Efraim Checkpoint
No soldiers.
12:40 Hamra Checkpoint
We see 5 soldiers.
12:43: A large taxicab arrives from the West Bank. The passengers disembark, the cab crosses and, behind it, another car approaches for examination: trunk, driver’s papers. From the Jordan Valley to the West Bank: a soldier signals to a car and it passes. Another signal, another car. They aren’t checked, but are simply allowed to pass.
12:50: A car from the West Bank is stopped and turned back – can’t cross. One man from a cab is also prevented from crossing and turns back. Unlike previous times we’ve been here, the traffic goes both ways. Also, the soldiers don’t delay people – they’re sharp to notice who’s coming and wave people through. The delays happen instead in the examination room: there are currently 4 cars and a taxi awaiting their passengers. An Israeli car attempts to cross into the West Bank. A soldier stops it and reroutes it to the Valley. Slow stream from the examination room.
13:10: It’s taken the 10 taxi passengers 25 minutes to complete the examination! At least half the passengers are women and children.
13:15: Small trucks and taxis carrying laborers cross over into the West Bank. In the last shift, we saw them crossing by foot, and attempting to catch taxis or hitchhike on the other side.
13:40 Tayasir Checkpoint
3 soldiers. No traffic.
13:52: A taxi crosses from the Valley to the West Bank. One raised arm and it passes, after papers are checked (it’s always curious, how they check papers here but not in Hamra).
14:15 Hamra Checkpoint again
4 cars await passengers undergoing examination in the examination room. Cars cross into the West Bank quickly, following raised hang signals, of course.
14:50 Ma’ale Efraim Checkpoint
Empty.
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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Ma'ale Efrayim
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Ma'ale Efrayim On the road connecting Route 90 (the Jordan Valley road) to the Allon Road.
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Tayasir CP
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Located on road 5799, It is one of the checkpoints control the passage between the northern West Bank and the Jordan Valley. For a long time, it stood empty and open, with only a sign next to it warning against entering Area A. It was adjacent to an old military camp - now everything is neglected. How much money was invested here, and how much brainwashing was done to the soldiers of Netzah Yehuda and Kfir.
Today, it is very difficult to pass there. Many delays. Often, teachers from Tubas are not allowed to pass into the Valley to villages like Ein al-Bida where the local schools are located, and there are no classes. There are additional days when the checkpoint is closed. In general, there is a wait there of about two to four hours to go towards the Valley and also to return. Many times the Palestinians are forced to use the Hamra checkpoint, which also leads into Tubas and the West Bank, but there is also a huge queue there and a long wait.
Following a deadly attack on soldiers at the nearby base in February 2025, the checkpoint was completely closed for the time being. (Updated March 2025)
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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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