‘Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 19.2.09, Afternoon
Translation: Hanna K.
A very hazy day.
13:47 Samaria Gate:
In front of us 7 vehicles leaving Israel, the Blue Police registers the details of a loaded truck. We are told that in the last year the ptactice is to ascertain the certification and to register the contents of each truck; to check on its return whether it is empty. On the way back too we saw a truck standing on the side to be checked.
14:05 Marda, the 2 gates are open, Zeita as usual closed, on the way back it's the same.
14:09 Za'tara CP –
From the west there are 4 vehicles waiting to be checked in one checking point,
From the north – 10 vehicles waiting in on checking post
14:18 Awarta CP – 9 vehicles are waiting in one checking post
14:20 Beit Furik CP –
Vehicles pass almost without stopping, from time to time they are checked but there are no delays as in the past. At the shed there is a young man waiting together with the soldiers. We are told that his ID number appeared in the shortened list. After checking he is allowed to continue, he went by minibus to Beit Furik.
There is a dead donkey in the field near the CP not far from the new 'traffic sign' at the CP indicating in Hebrew and in Arabic that it is forbidden to turn left in the direction of Alon Moreh (a photograph will be attached separately) this is the first traffic sign of its kind authorizing the apartheid road which we saw till today, we meet Israeli surveyors (all Russian speakers) and understood from them that at the exit from the CP, in the direction of Beit Furik: at this junction a square will be built!
14:45 Awarta junction – there are 10 vehicles waiting to be checked at the exit from Nablus
14:48 Huwwara CP –
A very lively traffic of passers-by. Waiting time under the shed: 20 minutes.
There are 3 checking posts for young men. There is a side queue for women, children and elderly men.
We meet the people of "Betzelem" who come to collect testimonies about the serious injury inflicted on Mahamud Awad who was beaten cruelly by a soldier at the CP.
We see through the grilles of the fence that there is a detainee in the prison cell. We searched for the DCO man and were told that he was at the vehicles circuit. There the CP commander told us that the detainee was a "dripper" who passed at the Madison route and was detained for an hour.
We though about the use the army makes (and acquires for its needs) of language – in terms like: bingo, straw-widow –
Cynicism? Consciousness:
Answer: Cast Lead
In the two vehicle lanes at the exit from Nablus there are long queues whose end cannot be seen.
The checking time differs from one vehicle to the other. The passengers stand outside the vehicle while it is checked, then they lift their shirt, turn around, then they are allowed to enter and they receive their IDs back. The x-ray vehicle has just now returned from repairs.
We see an argument between the soldiers and the driver of a private car. The checking time and his passage at the CP – 10 minutes. We didn't have the opportunity to know what the problem was: and then we saw the driver's wife leaving the vehicle with a baby, wrapped in blankets, in her hands. Only after the suspect bundle in her hands was checked the vehicle was allowed to go on its way.
He left quickly
Till the next CP
(a photograph will be attched separately)
In the lane for vehicles entering Nablus there is hardly any checking. But empty trucks are told to go back and their drivers are obliged to pass at the Awarta CP. They are forced to pass through a narrow and defective road in the alleys of Huwarra in order to reach Awarta
According to the CP commander: Israeli Palestinian from Jerusalem are allowed to enter Nablus and to leave it on foot – every day.
On Saturday every Palestinian who is an Israeli citizen is allowed to enter Nablus and leave it in his car.
We saw busses arrive, stop, people leave it (and pass through the turnstiles at the entrance to Nablus) and the busses continue on their way. These are busses for which the Huwwara CP is a station on their way to Tul Karem.
1703 Za'tara CP –
There are 22 vehicles from the north waiting to be checked (from Nablus, Huwwara) at one single checking station. We called the Center and T. promised to take car of the problem even thanked us for the update. From the west there are 3 vehicles waiting to be checked.
'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-23-2026Awarta Checkpoint is empty
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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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