Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 17.4.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
All the checkpoints were empty. Was it the efficient work of the soldiers or something else?
The soldiers and commander came to speak with us and took an interest in what we do, even if their merely meant to "know their enemy" and we could see that the soldier speaking to us was against our activity. Perhaps it was again because of the presence of a young and pretty woman? We of course tried taking advantage of the situation as well as possible. Did we manage to give the soldier something to think about? Perhaps, we can't be sure.
They are building a new checkpoint at Huwwara.
6:35- No police was present at Sa'ar Ha'Somron.
6:50- Marda was open and the entrance to Zeita was still closed by cement blocks that have a gate on them.
7:00- Za'tara-
Three cars were waiting from the west and five to four cars were standing from Nablus. The passage was quick. A buss left the parking lot just as we arrived and after that no cars were sent to the parking lot.
There were reserve soldiers from the air force and the commanders of the regiment. The deputy of the regiment commander came to talk to us. He said they were conducting random inspections, trying not to hold people up longer then needed. We had a long conversation with him about the importance of the checkpoints and politics.
For instance, he said that a couple of days before a man in a car from Ramala approached the CP and then headed back quickly. He had no doubt that he was a terrorist. It didn't occur to him that he could have just been a car thief!
7:20- We left. There were 12 cars from Huwwara.
7:35- Huwwara
About 40 people were waiting in line and only one post was open. I saw 4-5 soldiers sitting on the fence at the vehicle exit from Nablus.
After 10 minutes a soldier that was returning from the toilets arrived and opened another checking post. Couldn't they put a different soldier instead of closing the post?
It took 20 minutes in average to pass.
The DCO and checkpoint commander also had a long chat with us. The checkpoint commander thought that 20 minutes was good enough! They have nothing to complain about.
From the eastern side there were machines working on the land. The DCO said they were building a new checkpoint that will cost 5 million Shekels!!!
8:30- Awarta-
There were 2 cars at the entrance and 2 other cars at the exit. The passage was quick. Two lanes were open even though there were only three soldier present and a DCO representative (who was apparently replacing the missing soldier).
8:45- Beit Furik-
We saw smoke from the road coming from the entrance to Beit Fuirk.
No vehicles were waiting! The coffee stand owner said that they found a body of a 15 year old boy from Beit Furik on the road from Hamra.
On the day before he was heading from a day of work at Hamra, but he never got home. The family found him. A military car arrived at the spot and took the body for examinations in Israel. In the meanwhile things started to get messy in the village. The army hadn't yet noticed it and still hasn't arrived.
The checkpoint soldiers had on idea about this incident. The checkpoint commander asked us politely not to pass the white line, but there was really not much activity in the checkpoint. A soldier came and asked that we tell him about the organization. During the conversation with him we got the impression that he was merely trying to "get to know his enemy", but the conversation was to the point and perhaps we even gave him some food for though.
Two Israelis who are activists in Salem got permission to enter Nablus console a grieving family. Apparently this was the first time in five years they had been active, that stones were thrown at them on the Apartheid road. Perhaps that had something to do with the activity in Beit Furik? When we left we put two flags on our car. Would this protect us from the stones?
9:30- Back at Huwwara-
M. and his daughter L., a two year only child with cancer, were heading for treatments at Tel Ha'Shomer hospital.
He had some things in his bag that were meant for his friends that came from Gaza, who have a much harder time. He could get home in between treatments, but they must stay for months at the hospital since they have no reasonable way of getting home for a short while.
When we were heading back Za'tara was empty on all directions.
'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-RamatiApr-17-2008Awarta: a long line of cars
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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)
.Fathiya AkfaApr-17-2008Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
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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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