Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 28.1.08, Morning
Marda– Gate open on way there and back
Zeita- Concrete Cubes both ways
6.50 Za'tara( Tapuach)
No cars on the Cp leaing from Tul Karem to Ramalllah
At the Za'tara Cp there were 17-20 cars all throughout our stay there.
Quick checking 1-2 per vehicle
A bus that was told to park in the parking lot- minutes checking of ids, with all the men outside. Women were allowd to stay inside.
7.30-8.25 Beit Furik
Constant flow of people going to Nablus throughout our stay, with quick checking.
No detainees.
Vehicles- At any given minute there were 20-24 vehicles queuing up to go into Nablus, mostly open vans and lorries with goats and sheep going to the market, which closes at 8.30 according to one of the drivers.
Going out of Nablus while we were there- only two UN vehicles
Only one checking pathway.
Checking of vehicles took around 3-4 minutes, but there were beaks in the continuity of that.
We asked the CP commander to open another checking path, and were rudely answered.
We called twice the DCO asking them to take care of this. R.( at the doctor) and E. were not available on the phone.
8.30 Awarta
No back to back loading
No cars outgoing from Nablus
8-10 lorries going into Nablus. Soldiers polite to both the Palestinians and to us. We asked them to open another checking path, the commander called another soldier to join them and they did this.
8.50-9.35 Huwwara
The X ray machine was there, no checking by a dog, no detainees.
A queue of about 5 vehicles going out of Nablus. Checking takes about 4-5 minutes, because all the passengers' luggage has to be Xrayed.
At any given minute there were 25-30 people on queue to exit Nablus. There were three checking pathways+ one for the elderly and women. All checking very quick, with soldiers polite to the Palestinians.
Upon our arrival we asked the DCO officer, T. to deal with beit Furik problem and he did that.
The commander of the whole sector approached us , and we asked him to take care of the Beit Furik problem, and also commented that the two lavatories at the Cp there were not functioning.
9.50 a flying Cp with border police
immediately after the junction of Burin( Yitzhar) and Huwwara roads. Private cars and cabs with 2-3 passengers were allowed to pass while crowded cabs were asked to wait while Ids were checked. One of the Policemen said it was a routine checking rather than caused by an alert call.
One of the drivers waiting there, coming from Nablus, said to us" soon we shall have CPs between our bed room and our living room".
10.15 Za'tara
no cars at both Cps
Very cold with strong winds blowing.
'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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