Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 5.10.08, Morning
Translation: Suzanne O.
Za'tara
7:00 a.m.
There are 7 cars from the west and 11 from the north.
Beit Furik
7:15 a.m.
At the ‘cafe' in the car park we are told that "the situation is good, the soldiers are good".
There is no traffic of cars or people at the roadblock, apparently because of the festival.
Awarta
7:45 a.m.
The roadblock is deserted.
Huwwara
8:00 a.m.
The stalls are working again after the month of Ramadan during which they were unattended. However, the car park is not as full as it usually is during the week.
There are some 20 people in the queue to leave Nablus. A long queue, about 70 people, crowd near the turnstiles which are supposed to ‘regulate' the entrance to the town.
8:15 a.m.
We find out that there are two men in the cell. They claim to have been there for two hours, their names appear on the list (‘bingo!' according to the soldiers). One of them complains of a medical problem and asks to leave and return to Nablus.
The soldiers who notice that I am talking to the detainees do not send me away, they use new tactics: they photograph me.
One of them enjoys the game of photographing with his mobile phone, and does not stop until the commander asks him to return to his position.
We go over to the commander, A., who is not prepared to talk to us. We ask if we can ask him something – he does not take any notice.
Other soldiers photograph the three of us.
8:30 a.m.
There are about 40 people in the queue. A lot, relatively, are sent to check their bags at the x-ray machine. The logic of the inspection is not clear to us: people carrying relatively large bags are not sent for inspection. Some people, women among them, with small bags are forced to go for inspection. A young woman carrying a small bag and a carrier bag containing only a book is sent for inspection. She opens the carrier bag in front of us to share the absurdity of the inspection with us.
8:35 a.m.
We have not seen the DCO representative since we arrived and we ring Zaran who tells us that T., from the DCO, should be there. He promises to contact him. One of the soldiers, who either was not aware of the sweeping order that we are to be boycotted and it is forbidden to speak to us, or is simply (and this was our impression) a reasonable person, tells us where T., is and calls him.
8:50 a.m.
T., from the DCO, comes over. He tells us that the detainees, their names are on the list, have been in the cell since 8:00 a.m. They will be released straight away. They are indeed released and continue on their way.
The queue towards Nablus fades away – there are about 30 people in it.
9:00 a.m.
We leave early in order to give a lift to the father of the child who was involved in a road accident in Huwwara about a year ago, he is a ‘vegetable', to the hospital in Yad Eliahu.
'Awarta
See all reports for this place-
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-RamatiJul-2-2025Awarta checkpoint: Cars waiting towards Nablus
-
Beit Furik checkpoint
See all reports for this place-
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)
-
Huwwara
See all reports for this place-
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
-
Za'tara (Tapuah)
See all reports for this place-
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
-
