Awarta, Beit Furik, Burin (Yitzhar), Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 24.3.08, Morning
Translation: Snait G.
On the road, way before Marda two army vehicles in a flying CP, as well as soldiers who seemed to be searching for somebody in the olive orchard to the right of the road.
Marda– gate open, Zeita – concrete blocs, Closed gate.
6.20 Za'tara
No segregation .
No one at the small CP on the road from Tul Karem. At the central CP few vehicles, being checked very quickly. While we were there another lane was opened. There is a new checkup of loaded vehicles coming into Huwwarra, in search of raw materials for production of explosives.
The Cp commander is a reservist, who is polite, and makes an effort that the vehicles checkup be both polite and speedy( see at the end too).
6.35 beita
At the entrance to the Beita road an army car warns not to enter because-
In the last few days a wall about 2 meters high was erected from white building refuse, barring entrance into the village and its market from the main road( route 60). A lot of building refuse was also thrown along both sides of the road up to the newly erected wall.
Talking to people in the market, it turned out that the army blocked the road leading directly to Za'tara as well. One can enter or exit the village only via a very narrow road, its width less than one lane of the "roads for Whites only'. This road begins at the main road opposite the two restaurants and leads to Odala. In the very beginning of the road there are houses on both sides, so that any vehicle facing a lorry has nowhere to go. The road twists and turns in cultivated land and it takes 3-4 times longer to reach Beita.
Micky gave people MW cards.
Three army vehicles were located along the main road of Huwwara.
No Cp at Burin- Yitzhar.
6.50 Beit Furik.
5-6 vehicles waiting to enter Nablus, 1- to exit. Numerous people walking to enter Nablus. Their passage through the CP was very fast: from the end of the queue to its head -5 minutes. Passage of vehicles and their thorough checking was fast as well. While we stayed there were no breaks in the checking procedure. One lane for both directions. No detainees. The soldiers behaved reasonably.
7.40 Awarta
At any given minute 3-4 vehicles waiting to enter Nablus, 7-9 to exit. No detainees. No back to back loading. No passage of private cars. The checkup is relatively quick, but only one lane for both directions.
8.00 Huwwara
Lots of people entering and exiting. No detainees. The water container functions ok.
The lavatory is in order and looks ok.
There is an Xray machine and a checking dog. It was used on all vehicles with loads(e.g. vans and lorries) and on buses, both empty or with people, who were asked to wait outside(12-14 minutes). The dog checked the vehicles without a snout-guard.
Women and older men passed very quickly. 2-3 ordinary lanes were functioning. All men had to take off their belts, some also their shoes( when there was a whistle while they went through the electronic gate)). At any given minute of our stay there were 20-35 people in queue; it took about 15-18 minutes from the end of the queue to reach the exit.
A group from Italy came to visit Nablus, led by Louisa Morgantini. There arose some worry concerning a woman in the group who forgot her passport and had only her Italian ID. The CP commander promised to take care of that when they come out in the late afternoon. As no one called me, I assume things went smoothly.
9.45 Beit Furik
We went back there to make sure that things were ok. There was no queue of cars on either direction.
Very few people passed through. No detainees.
No CP at Burin-Yitzhar
There were still army vehicles along Huwwara road.
10.15 Za'tara
About 24 vehicles queuing to exit. No vehicles at the new entrance-CP. Three lanes. No cars in the small CP.
38 degrees in the shade, very dusty.
'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-RamatiJan-6-2026Awarta: Traffic jam on the way to Nablus
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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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Burin (Yitzhar)
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Burin (Yitzhar)
This is a Palestinian village in the Nablus governorate, a little south of Nablus, on the main road passing through the West Bank. The settlements: Yitzhar and Har Bracha, settled in locations that surrounded the village, placed fences so it is cut off the main road.
There are around 4000 inhabitants. Most of them are engaged in agriculture and pasture, although many graduates of the two secondary schools continue to study at the university. Academic positions are hardly available, they find work as builderd, or leave for the Gulf countries.
The village lands were appropriated several times for the establishment of Israeli settlements and military bases, and as a result, Burin's land and water resources dwindled. lSince 1982, more than 2,000 dunams of village land have been declared "state land" and then transferred to Har Bracha settlement.
Over the past few years and more so since 2017, the villagers have been terrorized by the residents of Yitzhar and Har Bracha, the Givat Ronen outpost and others. Despite the close proximity of soldiers to an IDF base close to one of the village's schools, residents are suffering from numerous stone-throwing events, vehicle and fire arson, also reported in the press.
In 2023, the prevention of the olive harvest in the village plot was more violent than ever. Soldiers and settlers walked with drawn weapons between the houses of the village and demanded that people stop harvesting in the village itself and in the private plots outside the village. The settlers from Yitzhar and Giv'at Roned raided the olive groves and stole crops. 300 olive trees belonging to the residents of Burin, near Yitzhar, were uprooted. The loss of livelihood from the olives causes long-term economic damage to the farmers' families, bringing them to the point of starvation.
(updated for November 2023)
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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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