‘Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 9.2.09, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
13:58 No one entering through Za'tara/Tapuach junction; 15 cars waiting to leave Nablus.
An army jeep at the entrance to Huwwara village, an army jeep at the Alon Moreh junction.
2:10pm Huwwara:
Two regular lanes and a humanitarian lane.
About 30 people in the humanitarian lane and about 60 in the others. We timed 2 minutes to go through the humanitarian lane, and 7 minutes for the inspections lane. About 15 cars waiting to exit.
2:33pm We stand next to the entry turnstile to Nablus. The checkpoint commander comes over to try and chase us away. It bothers him that we're watching. Threatens to call the police. Curses.
2:34pm 20-30 people at each checkpoint.
2:44pm We move to the other side, near the concrete cubes. The commander hurries over to chase us away from there also.
A., the DCO commander arrives and tries to smooth things over. We remain in place. A. proposes we cooperate 050 623 5676. Call later tonight to make sure everything ended peacefully.
Cars entering Nablus are inspected sporadically. A bus arrives and four women with children carrying Palestinian flags and scarves get off and enter through the turnstile.
A car leaving Nablus waits 15 minutes to get through. The inspection takes about 6 minutes.
15:06pm About 50 people at the checkpoint. The female MP's are screaming over the PA system.
A man carrying thick poles which he says he uses in laying curbstones is turned back to Nablus. We call the DCO representative so that he'll find out why, but the man doesn't wait.
15:23pm It takes about 20 minutes to go through.
3:35 Beit Furik – people go through freely; empty.
3:45 Awarta – 4 cars waiting to exit.
3:44 Huwwara – About 30 people on line; it takes 5 minutes to go through.
3:52 16 cars waiting to exit. It takes 20 minutes to go through.
4:30 Za'tara junction. 6 cars waiting to exit, 9 to enter.
13.58 – צומת תפוח ריק בכניסה, 15 מכוניות ביציאה משכם.
ג'יפ צבאי בכניסה לחווארה, ג'פ צבאי בצומת אלון מורה.
14.10 – חווארה: 2 מסלולי תורים רגילים ומסלול הומניטרי.
כ-30 איש במסלול ההומניטארי וכ-60 באחרים. זמן מעבר בהומניטארי נמדד 2 דקות, זמן במסלול הבדיקה 7 דקות. כ- 15 מכוניות בהמתנה ביציאה.
14.33 – אנחנו עומדות לצד הקרוסלה של הכניסה לשכם, ניגש אלינו מפקד המחסום ומנסה לגרש, מפריע לו שמסתכלות. מאיים בלהזמין משטרה. מקלל.
14.34 – בין 20-30 איש בכל המחסום.
14.44 – אנחנו עוברות לצד השני ליד הבטונדות, גם משם המפקד ממהר לנסות ולסלק אותנו. מגיע א. מפקד המת"ק ומנסה למתן. אנחנו נשארות במקום. א. מזמין שיתוף פעולה. התקשר מאוחר בערב לוודא שהכל נגמר בשלום. בדיקת מכוניות ספורדית של הנכנסות לשכם, מגיע אוטובוס ומורדות ממנו 4 נשים עם ילדים הנושאות דגלים וצעיפים פלסטיניים, נכנסות דרך הקרוסלה.
זמן המתנה למכונית יוצאת משכם כ-15 דקות. זמן בדיקה כ-6 דקות
15.06 – כ-50 איש במחסום. צרחות קולניות של המ"מצדיקית בכריזה.איש עם מקלות עבים הטוען כי משמשים לו לריצוף אבני שפה , מוחזר לשכם, אנחנו מתקשרות למת"ק שיבדקו למה, אבל הוא לא נשאר לחכות.
15.23 – זמן מעבר כ-20 דקות.
15.35 – בית פוריק מעבר חופשי, ריק.
15.45 – עווארתא – 4 מכוניות ממתינות ליציאה.
15.44 – חווארה – כ-30 איש בתורים, 5 דקות זמן מעבר.
15.52– 16 מכוניות בהמתנה ליציאה. זמן מעבר כ-20 דקות.
16.30 – צומת זעתרא 6 מכוניות בהמתנה ליציאה, 9 בכניסה.
'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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