Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 31.7.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
6:25- A police checkpoint with spicks was clocking one lane of the road a couple of meters before the entrance to Samaria.
6:40- The passage to Marda was open, and the one leading to Zeita was closed by cement bricks.
6:45 Za'atara Junction-
There were no cars from the west. The traffic from Nablus wasn't heavy either and there wasn't a line of cars. There were reserve soldiers from the armor unit.
7:05- Huwwara-
The parking lot wasn't full. At the exit from Nablus were about 40 people. Two inspection posts were activated and were working fast. For some reason those heading out were smiling and appeared to be tranquil. We didn't notice men taking their belts of and putting them back again after passing.
Maybe that in itself is enough reason for smiling.
There was an x-ray machine, a dog trainer and someone form the DCO
7:40- Awarta- There was hardly any traffic. Two or three trucks that were heading to Nablus passed quickly. There was a commercial vehicle full of little chicks that transferred it's merchandise to another truck by the back to back method.
8:00- Beit Fuirk-
8 cars were waiting to pass.
The commander was hostile towards us, as they usually are in this checkpoint ("Everything was great until you showed up…"). A young man on bicycles was waiting in the car lane. He was a student from Beit Dajan and each day he passes there on his bikes. Six cars had passed but he was still waiting. Esti approached the commander and asked why he wouldn't let the student pass, he shrugged his shoulders -" Just like that!!" After a couple of minutes she asked once again what was going on. The commander said that he wouldn't let him pass because we were there. As we were walking towards the car away from the checkpoint, the student was permitted to pass!!
8:30- Huwwara-
A young man from Jerico who is denied passage by the GSS came to us. At Jerico they told him to come to Huwwara to find out what was his status. He arrived on the day before but only 5 people were allowed to enter, he wasn't one of them. We called the DCO and learned that the DCO soldiers were on a two day trip from which they had only returned on the day before, and there for they had limited manpower and received only few cases (obviously we didn't know what the criterions were). The DCO sent him back to the GSS offices which were working as usual.
We waited for A. who has a two year old childe with cancer who has been given treatment for a while at Tel Ha'Shomer. He had a large bag with smaller bags in it, they had name tags on them. These were artifacts that were to be given to a family from Gaza that had to spend long periods of time at the hospital as they didn't have an ability to head back to Gaza and then return for treatment.
Za'tara – (on the way back) – There were only a few cars in line from Nablus.
'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-RamatiJan-6-2026Awarta: Traffic jam on the way to 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
-