‘Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Tue 9.12.08, Morning
Translation: Suzanne O.
A cold morning, there is a festival, the traffic is relatively light on the roads and when there are no people the surroundings are more obvious, the territories have been turned into a land of barbed wire fences. There are fences along the roads, around the roadblocks; it feels like a large prison.
Sha'ar Shomron
7:15 a.m.
The traffic is light in both directions and there are no hindrances at the entrance.
Along the way the situation is normal, Beita and Marda are open and there is still a heap of earth at Zeita barring the exit and the entrance.
Za'atra (Tapuach) Junction
7:40 a.m.
From the direction of Road 5 the roadblock is empty and the soldiers are unemployed, from the direction of Nablus there is only one vehicle.
The town of Huwwara is quiet because of the festival, everything is still closed.
Beit Furiq roadblock
7:55 a.m.
Wonder of wonders, there are just a few soldiers, 2 DCO representatives and among them Faras himself.
Everyone enters and leaves without inspection, according to him because of the festival and the security situation. According to him the yellow barrier in the area of Beit Furiq will stay open all the time, no closing times have been arranged and the soldiers are in their position as a formality.
Each roadblock has had a tall look-out tower built overlooking the area and the soldiers are observing from within.
In fact we could not see if there was no inspection because, during the half hour that we spent there, only one car left Nablus and was really not inspected.
The soldiers are relaxed and even bored, and that's good.
The roadblock at Awarta has been moved close to the entrance and the soldiers are in the vicinity, there is a look-out tower here too, there is no traffic and, according to P., commercial vehicles will be able to enter and leave freely.
Huwwara roadblock
8:30 a.m.
So, as we know, the new roadblock started to function yesterday. It is not obvious why the change had to be made, as far as the inhabitants are concerned things have not improved, perhaps they have a little more room. As far as the soldiers are concerned the improvement is in their security. Now there are 2 roadblocks standing side by side, one neglected and which will very soon look like a tip. According to T., the DCO representative, the old roadblock will be demolished.
There is a fair distance between the pedestrian crossing and the car crossing and the soldiers move from one to the other.
Pedestrian traffic is relatively light, those crossing are families with children and presents, all dressed up for the festival and reporting speed and efficiency at the crossing.
There are 3 queues, in two of them men are inspected as usual, there is also a humanitarian queue where the traffic is heavier, the moment a crowd of more than 10 people builds up reinforcements arrive and the residents cross quickly.
At the entrance to Nablus apart from the turnstile there is a gate open for the disabled, however, they have forgotten that in order to get to the gate the road should be flat, but we found a steep step there, we pointed it out to T., from the DCO who promised to deal with it.
We are able to stand unhindered wherever we wish.
Vehicles: those entering enter freely, the drivers still hesitate but a soldier immediately waves them through, and they drive on smoothly.
At the exit there is a long queue of vehicles, the drivers report a 15 minute wait, the x-ray machine at the side of the road checks parcels.
It should be noted that, although it is probably because of the festival, the people are mostly smiling.
Here too a tower has been built overlooking the area.
9:30 a.m.
We left. At the exit from the car park we met a delegate from the Blair team who told us that they too are observing the moderation which had been announced for the festival.
The town of Huwwara has woken up and the traffic within is heavier, more vehicles on the roads and at Tapuach Junction, from the direction of Nablus, there are about 12 vehicles waiting to cross.
In the car park there are a lot of military vehicles and a car is being inspected.
At Sha'ar Shomron the traffic is flowing but in both directions roadblocks have been set up.
'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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