‘Atara, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), יום ש’ 31.1.09, בוקר
Translation: Suzanne O.
The shift took from 6:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Atara
The roadblock is functioning but the inspection is cursory and the traffic flows. Around the roadblock we found the remains of the stun grenade attack which was reported during the week. The soldiers tried to work out who we are, but no more than that. The 'eternal' coffee vendor treated us to a coffee which warmed us up in the freezing cold.
The petrol station at Shilo
We are used to stopping at this petrol station for our traditional 'picnic' and for other 'humanitarian' needs, which are unobtainable during the rest of the shift. This time the settlement's 'security man' appeared and with a sour face and aggressive voice tried to find out who we are. "You are absolutely forbidden to be here on Saturday", was his declaration. As we were on the verge of leaving anyway, we did not argue and went on our way.
Za'atra
We did not hang around because the roadblock was empty and there were only 3 cars in the queue from north to south, from the west to east there were no cars at all.
Huwwara
Two 'ordinary' queues are functioning and one 'humanitarian' one. There were some 40 people in the queue and the crossing took an average of 20 minutes per person. The humanitarian queue was almost empty. The entrance to Nablus via the turnstiles was shameful and humiliating. It is hard to watch frightened young children, women who find it difficult to cross with both their children and the luggage they hold, to say nothing of crossing with children's buggies. The disabled gate is firmly locked and it's not difficult to imagine what would happen in case of need. Since we were busy with explanations for our visitors we were not free to make a more accurate count of those entering and leaving the roadblock.
A few taxi drivers are held up at the roadblock, but from a distance they did not appear particularly worried and we decided not to deal with the problem.
There is nothing new about the screams of the women soldiers – their voices are not silenced and their language has not improved. Even those who did not cause the x-ray machine to 'beep' were required to turn round and raise their outer clothes. One man was required to drop his trousers; he refused, obviously, and only revealed his legs – but the request itself makes one shudder.
There is no inspection at the vehicle crossing to Nablus. There is a long queue at the southern crossing and the inspection is thorough. How can an economy be sustained in such conditions – and how many essential working hours are lost at this roadblock?
The soldiers took no interest in us, apart from asking us not to photograph them on Saturday because there are orthodox soldiers among them.
Beit Furiq
Cars cross without inspection. The soldiers came to find out who we are but then left us alone. A shepherd with a flock of sheep and goats at the side of the road is required to move the four legged ones from Madison Way, which is meant only for the lords of the country and should not be sullied by the hooves of a few Palestinian goats. How fortunate that the army has time to deal with sheep and goats.
'Atara
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'Atara Checkpoint
Situated at the northern entrance to Ramallah from Route 465, called also Bir Zeit Checkpoint. Nowadays only remains of what used to be a busy checkpoint remain, a pillbox and concrete blocks.
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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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