Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 30.3.08, Morning
Translation: Hanna K.
It is the Day of the Earth, a demonstration is due to leave Nablus, there is an additional burden at Huwwara.
07:30 Zeita: The blocking is the usual one. There are soldiers nearby.
Za'tara: There are 2 vehicles coming from the west, 8 from the north, there is an lively traffic of vehicles coming from Huwwara in the direction of the CP.
At the Yitzhar junction the CP is not activated.
07:55 Beit Furik:
There are 7 vehicles waiting. The driver to whom we talk informs us that the situation is better today. There is a flow of pedestrians, they stay for a short while at the turnstiles.
08:25 Awarta:
There are no incoming vehicles, in the outgoing vehicles queue there is a small number of trucks. The CP commander comes up to us, when we ask whether he comes to get rid of us answers – no, he just came to make sure we don't pass on any material to the Palestinians.
08:35 Huwwara:
A lively traffic in the direction of the town. There is a congestion near the turnstiles, but the delay is light.
About 40 people at the turnstiles at the exit from Nablus. The CP routine: a checking truck, the removal of the belts and their strapping on, at least there are no girl dog trainers and no sniffing dogs.
08:45 – A soldiers who checks the vehicles entering Nablus turns to Yael: Do you know that you are not allowed to be here? A dialogue with him does not follow, as he went back to check the cars and didn't pay any attention to us (neither we to him).
About 15 soldiers arrived on the spot, with a hummer and an armored vehicle. It seems that because of the Day of the Earth that occurs today a demonstration coming from Nablus is expected to take place here. A., the CP commander informs us that we are forbidden to stay here today. According to the decree of the supreme commander of this military zone the entire area from Nablus to Za'tara is proclaimed a closed military zone. Nevertheless he allows us to stay until the beginning of the demonstration. The decree is not in his hands, but he is ready to bring it and to show it to us. When its arrival was delayed we approached Hanna B., who investigated and confirmed the existence of the decree. After some time it arrived and we could read it. We contact A., from the DCO. He demonstrates hostility towards us. Later he became reconciled and told us that yesterday our women arrived at their shift and when he asked them how things were one of them replied that as long as he was a soldier in uniform she was not prepared to talk to him.
09:25 – About 10 people at the turnstile.
09:35 – A man who sells flowers at the CP came up to us. His vehicle is full of flowers and the CP commander doesn't allow him to display the flowers near the exit from the CP, where he usually disaplys them. He turns to A. from the DCO and to the CP commander, tries to put the flowers at another corner, but this is not acceptable to the commander, the area has to be sterile. He suggests the man put the flowers at the parking lot, but there is no place there, and the man continues to try explaining to the commander, begs him, but to no avail, and he turns here and there, helpless and frustrated.
09:25 – A bagel vendor who wanted to display his merchandise at the entrance to the CP, because the peddlers' row is completely full tells us that A. from the DCO threatened him in the morning with imprisonment, should he display his merchandise where he wished to display it.
09:50 – 7-8 taxis are parked in a frontal line, to the left of the entrance of the parking lot. The commander goes up to their drivers and demands that they vacate the area. They do not move. He removes the keys of one of the taxis whose owner is not around and takes them. He pulls out a pocket knife and threatens to cut the tires of the taxis. He turns to one of the drivers: I told you to disappear from here – so disappear from here! The drivers do not react. One of them answers in a restrained and decisive manner: We must bring food for our children, this is our work, we cannot go away.
The commander looks strained and leaves the place.
10:00 – Again military vehicles arrive, park on the spot. They are waiting for the demonstration.
10:40 – We turn to the commander A., about the car keys which he took. He promises to return them in a few minutes and adds that he is interested in returning them, so that the driver should vacate the area quickly. When we ask that will happen to all those who are staying at the parking lot, he answered that if quiet be kept they would be allowed to stay.
We were forced to leave the CP because the demonstration had already left Nablus. We were not able to see it. Before leaving we left our phone number with a taxi driver and asked him to report to us should there be undesirable developments at the demonstration. He did not contact us.
11:20 Za'tara:
We stopped to find out whether the decree about the closed military area had arrived here too, and what it meant concerning the settlers moving on the roads (as, according to the decree, movement was forbidden for Israeli too). The CP commander G., a Nahal reserve soldier, greeted us warmly and talked with us. He told us that the decree had reached him but he was not yet required to put it into action.
A Palestinian car is detained and its passengers are checked by the Israeli police. G. doesn't know why the car was stopped. Later he was asked by the police to check one of the passengers. The driver tells us that the identity number of that passenger is suspect, and he is usually detained for checking that lasts 20-30 minutes and then is released.
We left the CP.
'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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