Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za'tara (Tapuah), Sun 8.6.08, Morning - machsomwatch
Back to reports search page

Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 8.6.08, Morning

Observers: Edna L. and Ditza Y. - reporting
Jun-08-2008
| Morning

Translation: Hanna K.

The eve of Shavuot – there is a curfew. An equation well-known beforehand: The Israelis celebrate and the restraints on the Palestinians are tightened even more.

07:35 Za'tara:
One car from the West. 53 vehicles from the norther, and on our way to Huwwara many more vehicles heading to the CP are seen. We reported to the humanitarian center, G. promised to check the matter.

07:50 Beit Furik:
There are three vehicles in the queue, but no people in the shed for the crossing people.

08:05 Awarta:
There are no trucks at the entrance, one truck at the exit from the village.

08:20 Huwwara:
About 40 people in the queue. Few cars gush forth from time to time both from Nablus and to Nablus.
As usual: A truck for checking, and a girl dog trainer with a dog, and the procedure of the unfastened belts and their girding at the exit.
A  man who comes out of the CP answers our question and says he was about a quarter of an hour at the CP.
There is a lively pedestrian traffic to Nablus, from time to time there is a congestion near the turnstile, but it dissolves after a few moments.
We discover a detained young man in the detainees' cell. He tells us that he is a "bingo". His mother, brother and sister stand at the security check shed, waiting for his release.
A., the CP commander tells us that the family is on its way to the funeral of the grandfather in Ramallah.
The young man was detained about half an hour ago because his ID number came up on the screen. A. shows concern, calls the base from time to time to find out whether they already have an answer regarding the lad. The mother, who has an aristocratic appearance and the children (a boy aged 15 and a girl aged 12) stand quietly, asking for our help, but accepting with understanding our helplessness. We try to imagine, without success, how we would have felt in their place, being detained thus, on our way to the funeral of grandfather about whose passing we learned in the early hours of the morning.
A., to whom we turn again and agin, doesn't reject the possibility that the checking of the lad's details is intentionally delayed as a measure of punishment.
09:00 –T. from the DCO arrives, he too cannot do anything to speed the checking up.
09:10 –The lad was released.
09:15 –A young man who came out of the CP and whom we address, reports that he has been at the CP for half an hour.
4 vehicles at the entrance to Nablus. A soldier checks them, while he all the while blowing up the chewing gum in his mouth to form balloons. But it has to be pointed out that the checking is quick.
09:30 –We leave the CP in order to drive the parents of a child from Huwwara who is hospitalized in the Reut institution at Yad Eliyahu.

09:50 Za'tara: there are 27 vehicles coming from the north, and 3 from the west.


 

 


 

  • '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.
      Awarta: a long line of cars
      Ronit Dahan-Ramati
      Jun-08-2008
      Awarta: a long line of cars
  • 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)

      .
      Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
      Fathiya Akfa
      Jun-08-2008
      Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
  • 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.  
      זעתרא (צומת תפוח). שלטים
      Shoshi Anbar
      Sep-27-2023
      Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
Donate