Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 3.1.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
The talk about the upcoming relief and gestures, are like a weatherman's report- It will not be raining and there will not be a relief.
6:15- There were no BP soldiers inspecting the gate at "Sha'ar Ha'Shomron".
The entrance to Marda and Zeita were empty. The blockage continued.
6:35- Za'tara/Tapouah Junction:
There were three cars from the west and only few cars from Huwwara that passed quickly. The soldiers at the checkpoint wouldn't talk to us at all, they seemed to be Yeshiva members and behaved accordingly.
6:45- No inspection was preformed at Burin/Yitzhar checkpoint.
Due to the many complaints on the Golany soldiers behavior at Beit Furik, we decided to begin there.
6:55- Beit Furik
A long line of cars heading out of the village. There were many pedestrians in front of the turnstiles. We showed the commander the documents saying that he mustn't stop the inspection when he thinks we are standing in a place he doesn't like, but that didn't impressed him at all.
They are still using the new car inspection technique: every driver must leave his car, get out and open his jacket, do the checkpoint dance and then only approach the soldier. In most cases they don't bother to check the car.
Due to this new technique the inspection was very slow and the line of people waiting starched even beyond the road.
A military jeep arrived, in it were sergeants and sergeants majors. We tried explaining to them how ineffective and wrong it was. As though that was what would protect the soldiers lives.
Eventually a young person from the DCO arrived. He quickly opened another lane for cars, this time he didn't ask the drivers to step out side, and the line quickly became shorter. We left the checkpoint in the DCO's hands and headed on.
7:45- Awarta
A long line of trucks that were waiting to get out of the city. The inspections were strict but there wasn't a bad atmosphere.
A Palestinian in a small truck detained (they said he had been there for three to four hours) as punishment for driving on a forbidden road. He said he came from Huwwara but the soldiers claimed they had seen him driving there. We later asked that the DCO in Huwwara investigate thins incident.
8:50 – Huwwara- At the entrance was a large sign of the Gidion family- a Golany soldiers' unit that were manning the checkpoint. A crowd of men and women were trying to get out of the city. We didn't see the dog trainers in the car lanes. The x-ray machine was there.
The parking lot is really going through developments, this time they were selling Shawarmas.
The deputy company commander arrived and we asked that he speak to his colleague from Beit Furik, so that he stop using the new inspection technique.
8:40- No activity at Burin/Yitzhar.
At Za'tara/ Tapouah junction were 14 cars waiting from Huwwara, 8 were waiting from the east.
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'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-RamatiJan-6-2026Awarta: Traffic jam on the way to Nablus
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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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