Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 27.1.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
7:50 Za'tara:
Two cars were waiting from the west. A station wagon cab was parked by the side of the road.
We approached it. The driver said there were no problems, they were only inspecting the IDs of the passengers.
From the north there were only 2 manned inspection posts. A' the checkpoint commander, told us that he didn't have enough man power to open another lane.
While heading to Huwwara we counted 25 cars.
8:00 On our way to Beit Furik, by the turn to the DCO, we encountered a blockage. There was an unidentified object on the road, and police robot was handling it. After we had stood there for a while, and since from a far the objected seemed to be nothing more then a bag of clothes or something of the sort, and also was it seemed that they were to released the blockage soon, we turned our car and headed to Huwwara.
8:30 Huwwara:
About 20 people were at the turnstiles. Many people were heading into Nablus. About 15 people were crowded by the only turnstile, and after several minutes the place was empty and had remained so until another group of people had arrived.
T' from the DCO approached us. He said that it was rather busy in the morning and that there were many people heading to Nablus, he arranged that they pass from the western side of the checkpoint.
The soldiers made sure that we didn't pass the white line that had lately become reddish (but they should at least let it dry).
The Palestinian that came out of the turnstile came to us and said: "What kind of a reality is this!"
9:20 It was quiet at the checkpoint, nothing special to report. We left.
9:30 Beit Furik: 25 cars were heading to Nanblus. The drivers told us that the soldiers closed the checkpoint from 6:30 to 8:00 AM. They said that it was because of settlers that were heading to Joseph's Tomb, even though the settlers didn't actually pass through the checkpoint. A Beit Furik resident we met later on, told us that he was told that a settler did pass through this checkpoint.
We tried talking to the checkpoint commander. He rudely told us to go. When we promised to stand behind the virtual line and asked that he come to us as we had a question, he said: "I'm not your buddy and I haven't got anything to say to you".
About 20 people were in the turnstiles.
A truck and a cab were parked by the inspection post. The truck driver told us that his sons were with him in the truck and that they got into fight with the cab passengers about who was first in line, the soldiers put them in the cell. They had been there for two hours. Since we couldn't speak to the officer we called the humanitarian center. We asked that they also find out about the blockage at the checkpoint that morning. We spoke to K from the Center- the Palestinians were released from the cell.
9:50 The turnstiles became empty. A few people were heading to the checkpoint. We left.
10:00Awarta: There were no cars on either side.
The Palestinian that is always at the checkpoint told us that it had been closed during the morning for over an hour, until 8:00 AM. He said that it was because of the Braslavs that wanted to visit Josef's Tumb. He added that they entered through Alon Moree and that they didn't even pass through Awarta.
We left the checkpoint. On our way back there were 10 car in line at Za'tara.
We told Raya about the blockage at Beit Furik and Awarta on behalf to the Braslavs, so that she report that to the media.
'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-RamatiMay-12-2025Awarta: Waiting to move towards 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)
.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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