‘Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 16.2.09, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
14:40 The entrance to Marda is open. The entrance to Zeita is blocked by concrete cubes.
14:45 Za'tara junction. About 22 cars on line from Nablus. Two inspection lanes, no delays.
Huwwara 15:00 – 16:30
A small cart in the parking lot with drinks and packaged snacks. Most of the area has been cleaned of residues of food and packages. Two covered carts/stalls near the pedestrian entrance await better days.
From the entrance, where many people come through on foot, on the way to the waiting taxi drivers, we can see the people waiting in the shed – we counted more than 80. From here, we can also see the usual ceremony involved in passing through the turnstile, placing personal belongings on the counter, through the magnemometer, presenting ID, back to the counter, handing over belongings for inspection, removing the ID from the lower box…This time, most people went through without removing their belts.
A constant flow of women of different ages and older men goes through the humanitarian lane.
15:15 Two inspection booths: 31 people went through the turnstiles in 10 minutes. A young man we watched might have waited 30 minutes from the time he entered the shed. Very many students returning from Nablus. Two "ecumenicals" arrive; after a short, friendly discussion they went through to check the other side, the length of the vehicle line.
15:20 Someone's been detained.
15:40 The soldier we asked about the detainee doesn't know anything; he's just arrived.
No DCO representative around. After a while we asked the checkpoint commander about the detainee; he told us that it's being looked into.
16:00 About 100 people waiting in the shed. We timed the wait again: 35 minutes. In 10 minutes, only 24 people went through.
Few cars entering Nablus, no delays.
The exit lane for vehicles is particularly slow, only one inspection lane open. From time to time a "VIP" car arrives and goes through in a separate lane without inspection.
16:10 Average inspection time per car – 2 minutes. We were told that at 15:30, there were 32 cars on line. Mostly private cars, a few taxis and a bus. Some of the cars are inspected carefully, after all the passengers get out. No dog handler, and the x-ray vehicle isn't being used.
A Palestinian speaking Hebrew comes over to us and says his brother was held by the GSS for about a month (he was taken from home for interrogation), and ever since, each time his brother goes through the checkpoint, he's detained. He knows that he should get in touch with the DCO to clear his name and get off the blacklist, but he's afraid. His brother was released before we could respond, and they left.
16:30 The car that P., from Switzerland, started tracking an hour earlier, is now fifth on line.
16:40 Awarta junction.
On the way we saw a long line of trucks, up to the curve in the road. We continued to Beit Furik, assuming it would be deserted, but there were a few soldiers next to the shed, and they even stopped one of the existing cars, only for a few minutes, so that a short line of three cars formed, and then they drove on.
17:10 On the way back we stopped at Awarta next to the soldiers. A cart harnessed to a donkey stood opposite them, and two Palestinians (father and son?) lit a small fire to warm themselves. The soldiers didn't allow us to speak with them, and asked us to park beyond the stop sign. We did so, and were able to see each vehicle that arrived, because there weren't more than three or four trucks on line, and they went through in a few minutes. The two men with the donkey indicated that they didn't want to be photographed, but asked for food. All we had were clementines and a few candies that we'd bought at the Huwwara checkpoint. We went over and gave these to them, to the displeasure of policemen who just then passed by the junction; there weren't any problems.
Entry to Nablus is unrestricted.
17:30 Back to Huwwara, the line of cars seems shorter (about 20), and there seem to be only about half as many people in the shed as there were before.
Za'tara junction. 32 cars on line from Nablus, two inspection booths. No cars from the other direction.
'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-RamatiApr-23-2026Awarta Checkpoint is empty
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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.
Ronit Dahan-RamatiJun-9-2026Za'atara (Tapuach Junction). The Temple Flag Above a Station
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