‘Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Shomron Crossing, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 26.2.09, Morning
Translator: Charls K
6:20 Shomron Gate. No police.
6:35 Marda. The gates are open. Zeita – blocked as usual.
6:40 Za'tara.
Two pickup trucks coming from the west have been detained, a police car next to them.
One of the drivers doesn't have his driver's license with him. He says he forgot it at home. The soldiers say they saw he didn't know how to drive, and called the police.
There's a 15-year-old youth in the second pickup truck (that's loaded with bags of used clothing bought in Ariel) who doesn't have an ID card yet. He has a birth certificate, but without a parent accompanying him the soldiers don't believe he isn't 16. They took his birth certificate (that's in Arabic) to check.
7:10 The youth gets back his birth certificate and the vehicle is released to continue on its way.
The driver without a driver's license is transferred to the parking lot, along with his car. One of the passengers, who has to get to the hospital, gets out and walks over to find a ride in another vehicle. He goes around the circular perimeter of the parking lot . Apparently he's forbidden to cross through the lot, which is, of course, a military area!
A car with five men coming from Nablus is directed to the lot for inspection. The men get out and are moved away from the vehicle. There's no dog handler.
7:20 Opposite the entrance to Beita, the military police detains a taxi.
7:25 Awarta. No line of cars.
7:25 Beit Furik. Three soldiers, who aren't checking cars.
The phone number of the DCO is posted on the yellow gate at the entrance to the village.
7:45 Huwwara.
Two vehicle lanes open. Passengers have to get out for inspection. There's usually between 4 and 8 vehicles on line at any one time, and the drivers tell us that it takes about 5 minutes to go through.
30-40 people waiting to go through on foot. Inspections are slow, and people have to lift their shirt, turn around, and lift their pants legs. A guy who handed over his ID has "disappeared." When he returns, it turns out that he went in search of the officer. A minor brouhaha, the checkpoint is closed, he's made to remove his shoes, released and life goes on.
The commander chases away the taxi drivers coming from Nablus who come near the entrance to Nablus in order to snatch riders.
8:55 Za'tara. The Israeli police are still there. No line of cars.
8:55 Shomron Gate.
Two trucks waiting from the west, and three cars belonging to Palestinian Israelis are being inspected by the police.
A very long line of cars at the entrance to Palestine.
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'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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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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Shomron Crossing
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Shomron Crossing The Shomron checkpoint for vehicles. is located east of Rosh HaAyin and Kafr Qassem, on Road 5 (Trans-Samaria) leading to Ariel and the Za'atara junction. It is intended for blue ID cardholders, foreign guests or diplomats, and international organizations only. In 2009 the management was entrusted to a civil security company.
Ronit Dahan-RamatiAug-21-2025Highway 505: Salute to the Hilltop Youth
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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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