Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 14.1.08, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
12.35 We go down to the road to Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik so as to see if the blockage has been removed and a man tells us that the day that Bush arrived in Israel it had been taken away.
At Ariel there are no soldiers at the hitching post and many people waiting for a lift.
12.50 Tammie C. had asked us to speak to M. from Marda. The western gate which had been the main one has been blocked for 8 years to cars but people could still get to their lands or the main road. But last Sunday it was blocked by barbed wire which does not allow people through at all. Someone has torn a part on the side and there people go through. M. says that there is an agreement with the army about opening another gate in the centre of the fence which encircles the village so that the agricultural workers can get to the land but this was not done. We will send photos. IN the meantime this affects the framework of their lives and we should follow this up.
13.25 Za'tara. 3 cars and no detainees.
Opposite the entrance to Beita is a police jeep protecting a water tank?
13.35 Beit Furik is quite.
The drivers at the parking lot say it is a good day. One of them says the checkpoint opens late and causes problems. We phoned the humanitarian centre and asked them that the hour of opening be fixed and not later then 5.30 am.
At the entrance to the checkpoint we met the DCO representative, Y. going towards a taxi with a young girl and one of the soldiers. The girl was ill.
Pedestrians pass quickly and cars leaving Nablus are quickly checked. No delays.
14,15 Awarta.
An ambulance enters Nablus and two wait to leave. 5 trucks at the exit.
14.25 Huwwara
Two peole with two goats which they are holding by their ears wait next to the hut at the car lane. They cannot go through the pedestrian lane with the goats. The soldiers are in doubt but the DCO decides to send them through immediately. S. asks. Do you know how much they cost? Another asks…alive or dead.
One man says he has waited two hours and another says 15 minutes. The humanitarian lane is full of life. R. from the DCO gets to work and immediately the line passes quickly. He says that the universities are now open and therefore there are more people.
Only two lines and we look for the commander Y. to find out why and by the time we do there are three lies open. It turned out that one of the soldiers had been taken ill and it took a while for the change of manpower to kick in. 3 dogtrainers arrive and one immediately goes into action. A private car is then checked for 20 minutes. The passengers stand a way off but they are not told to turn their faces away while the dog checks.
15.00 A taxi arrives and the passengers are sent to the x-ray. 3 doors are opened and the dog and three soldiers check for 5 minutes and the car goes on its way. Most cars are checked for 5 minutes.
There is a detainee, His father goes to R. of the DC0 and it appears that the young man's ID is similar to that of a wanted man. I give these details to the Operation Department and he is freed in five minuets.
Our shift was shortened for personal reasons.
15.35 Za'tara
From Nablus are 40 cars with two lines working and only IDs checked. A bus is detained and the driver says they have been there an hour. We see the dog checking and people getting back into the car. From the west are 15 taxis.
'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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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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