Awarta, Beit Furik, Burin (Yitzhar), Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 27.3.08, Morning
The last chamsinim (desert winds) have dried the Spring flowers and our hopes for relief.
And today, a startling surprise: young good-looking faces even soften the tough behaviour of checkpoint commanders.
06:20 – police, Border police and civilians in bright flak jackets at Shaar Shomron. More thorough checks than usual also on the facing lane of people leaving the Territories.
The entry to Marda is open, the block at Zeita continues.
06:40 – Zaatra-Tapuah Junction: no cars waiting from the West and few from Huwarra.
On the checkpoint, reservists from the Air Force, friendly and welcoming. There is a dog minder. According to them there is no quarantine or special warning. A third lane opens up whenever there is pressure.
The buses and minibuses directed into the plaza are checked relatively quickly.
07:00 – Beita Junction no military activity.
07:05 – Yitzhar/Burin Checkpoints have been taken off the road, and it seems that a space is being paved for special checks.
Huwwara: we invite the second lieutenant checkpoint commander to explain to Tamar the procedures, and he does so politely and expansively. The DCO rep joins him to add details. Clearly the IDF was again active during the night in Nablus, and possibly this is the reason why so few are coming out of the city.
On site are a telescope and a dog minder, but there are no detainees. The market is flourishing in the parking lot.
The checkpoint is cleaner than usual. Seems they now employ a number of cleaners.
At the entrance to Nablus there is pressure by the turnstile because of the large number who want to enter the city.
07:45 – Awarta: a short line of trucks in each direction. The soldiers are happy to explain their duties to Tamar, and they allow us to stand wherever we want.
08:15 – Beit Furik: about 14 cars and a few pedestrians waiting to enter the city. Here too the commander is eager to prolong dialogue with Tamar. Though he explained to us that he does not have enough soldiers to open a second lane, he still does so and within a short while the line on all sides vanishes. Now a cleaner is also working at this checkpoint.
Instead of returning to Huwwara, we decide to hop over for a visit to the DCO. The sergeant in the tower stops us and asks us to wait for the commander's permission. The officer arrives accompanied by a male and a female soldier. All are polite and friendly but not prepared to allow us to continue the study tour inside. The officer gave no reasoning as to why the Palestinians are allowed but we are not. Those are the procedures. Try the DCO commander…
We continue along the winding road following the trucks leaving Awarta, and come into the main street of Huwwara. The town is throbbing with activity. In the main street, building and renovation of shops, many people everywhere, no sighting of military vehicles.
09:10 – Zaatra/Tapuah Junction: 60 vehicles waiting. The checkpoint commander apologizes that he has to extract his soldiers for breakfast, so only one lane is working part of the time. He promises to speed up the process as soon as they return from the meal break.
Just beyond Ariel traffic stops and a line forms over a few kilometres. After about 290 minutes, it starts to flow again. Close to Shaar Shomron we see that the Israel Police are checking a car. Perhaps that was the reason for the stoppage.
At Shaar Shomron no examination of people entering Israel.
'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-RamatiMar-27-2008Awarta: a long line of cars
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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)
.Fathiya AkfaMar-27-2008Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
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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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