‘Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 14.3.10, Afternoon
Since closure has been imposed and no workers are allowed into Israel, we skipped the part of our shift that usually takes us to Yrtach, and chose to travel the Palestinian roads connecting the three villages near Beit Furiq and Huwwara checkpoints.
Tapuach Zaatara Junction Checkpoint 15:00
45 cars seen coming from Nablus, inching into the inspection area.
On our way back two hours later, traffic was moving without inspections.
In the town/village Huwwara, as on the concrete wall of the quarry opposite the Huwwara checkpoint, the black tarred Hebrew letters are still blaring the inscriptions “Blessed be He that did not make me a Gentile”. We continue to mention this and emphasize the fact that if the army continues to dominate this area and does nothing to erase this filth, then we conclude that it condones it.
Huwwara checkpoint 15:15
As we arrive, a very large group of soldiers (not Border Patrol) is present.
15:23 For reasons unknown to us, the soldiers do not let the cars exiting Nablus through, so a very long line is formed. 10 minutes later traffic is resumed but at a snail’s pace, every car gets a ‘glance inspection’.
The entry lane too is filled at a standstill with a very long queue.
Sniffer dog and trainer arrive at 16:05.
Lieutenant X comes over to explain to us, with charming smiles, that we should please proceed to stand outside the checkpoint compound, further off where we would not see a thing, because… as long as we stand where we do, the soldiers cannot concentrate on their job and are too busy thinking about our safety and well being.
16:15 Traffic is resumed and back to normal, and we relieve the distracted soldiers of our worrisome presence and proceed to Beit Furiq.
Beit Furiq Checkpoint 16:25
The Israeli flag drapes the concrete slabs, and no soldiers in sight.
We then bumped merrily along the pot-holed narrow village roads connecting Awarta, Hudala and Beita, ooing and ahing at the lovely landscape, exchanging lots of smiles with lots of children, went in to take a peek at the present state of the greens market in Beita where the fruit traders received us with joy and curiosity and wouldn’t let us leave without taking with us a bunch of bananas as a token of their appreciation that we oppose the checkpoints and that we come by to say hello.
And then we led our shame back home to Israel.
'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-RamatiNov-6-2025Awarta. Crossing the road towards the checkpoint
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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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