Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah)
We were particularly interested in going to Khirbet Tana after I read in Al Ittihad on Wednesday, 3.1.17, about demolitions soldiers carried out there.
Khirbet Tana is located south of Nablus, east of Beit Furik. It is surrounded by three settlements – Itamar, Gitit and Mehora. Its main entrance is from the direction of Mehora, in the Jordan Valley, a distance of about one kilometer. But the army forbids the inhabitants to use that road, and erected a gate there for military purposes. So they’re forced to use the road from Beit Furik, a distance of five kilometers.
There are no buildings in Khirbet Tana. The inhabitants live in tents and in caves, and make a living from raising sheep and cattle. In the winter they grow grain.
Furik. Of course, the army came and demolished the structure. But the inhabitants rebuilt it with the assistance of, and contributions from, the EU’s Humanitarian Assistance Office. The work was carried out by the Italian GVC organization.
They have two springs from which they draw water which they transport in tankers.
On Tuesday, January 3, soldiers accompanied by tractors arrived and demolished 13 tents, and tried to destroy the caves in which they live, but weren’t successful. But they did confiscate their water tankers.
From time to time settlers from Itamar come to graze their sheep in the area and harass them.
That’s what we were told by M., a resident. “The goal of the army is to chase us off our land. We’re here to guard the land our fathers and grandfathers took care of for generations. We have a kushan proving the land is registered in our name and we won’t abandon it, nor will our children…”
16:20 We left. On our way back the Beit Furik checkpoint was manned, as was Huwwara checkpoint. It was the time people return home so it created a traffic jam.
17:00 Huwwara. A military vehicle, soldiers alongside it, was parked beside the shops on the main road, where there was heavy traffic of military vehicles. Three military ambulances drove by, travelling in the direction of the checkpoint.
17:20 Za’tara is manned, as are all the bus stops.
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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