Awarta, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 16.4.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
Summery:
Everything was calm at the checkpoints. The DCOs issues VIP document that are supposed to make the passage easier for officials from the Palestinian Authority.
7:10 Za'tara:
The line from Nablus wasn't long. Buses from Tulkarem were strictly inspected and detained for 20 to 30 minutes.
7:30 Huwwara
The lines weren't long. Pedestrians entering Nablus weren't inspected. We didn't spend much time at the checkpoint, we returned later and it was the same situation.
Lieutenant T. from the DCO told us that 102 officials from the Palestinian Authority were entitle to a VIP permit. People with this Document are supposed to be able to pass the checkpoint without waiting in line, and the soldiers must respect that document and its possessor. T. wanted us to make sure that MW women know this, in case the soldier at the checkpoint isn't familiar with the new regulation.
We disagreed among ourselves about the VIP issue. Edna thought that the Authority shouldn’t have agreed to it, that the officials were selling their people off and that the consequences of this would be evident in the next elections. I think that any gesture that reduces the friction with the politicians from the other side is a smart move for Israel, and I as an Israeli have an interest in promoting it.
The tractors were working on the land by the olive plantation. We didn't see any harm cuased to the trees but it would be best to keep an eye on it.
7:50 Awarta
We came to see whether there were any tax collector from the PA as the rumor had it that the closing for Beit Iba CP for trucks was in order to allow the PA to collect tax at Awrta. We didn't see any tax collector. A local merchant said that they arrive each day for an unexpected inspection. We have no proof that relocation of the merchandise transfer to Awrta had anything to do with a conspiracy between the army and the PA but there were cretin signs that this was the case. Either way the welfare of the northern-eastern part of the bank is severe.
For a whole hour the drivers had to moves boxes of medicine and medical equipment from one truck to the other, the other one had a permit to enter Nablus. Such a permit has a critical financial meaning. We thought that apart for the security reasons (which includes the need for inside collaborators), the permits are used to create corruption among the mediating offices, the DCOs and DCLs.
8:10 Beit Furik
Driver waited for about half an hour at the entrance to Nablus. There were no lines at the exit.
The inspections were preformed slowly. The soldiers weren't in a hurry, they slowed the traffic down and the lines on both side had only on inspection post (in this absurd situation we wished that more soldiers would come). A driver of a van that was full of eggs asked that we intervene before the eggs go bad. The checkpoint commander had no patience for our nagging, but the line had mysteriously disappeared.
We had also visited in some houses at Beit Furik and Burin. Afterwards we drove to the local council of Kosin to place a request for a special license for the passage of trucks at Beit Iba. By chance we had arrived during a meeting the women of the village had with a mental health counselor. As usual we were immediately invited to join them. At the end of the meeting the counselor handed out questionnaires about the discovering of mental problems. One of the women peeked at the questionnaire and said that according to what it says everyone in the room is insane. Considering the state we are in, how could things be different?
Shvut Ami
We drove on the road and saw settlers at the illegal settlement that had been dismantled so many times before.
An appendage:
We collected some random numbers about the wages around Nablus.
An urban worker: 50 ₪ per day.
The monthly wages of a secretary/clerk with a BA: 1000 ₪
A junior clerk that works for the PA: 1200₪ per month.
A policeman: 2000₪ per month.
The wages of a farmer from a village: 5 ₪ per hour.
The payment for a kindergarten that is open 4 hours a day: 35₪ per month (one kindergarten teacher watches 30 children from 4 to 50 at her home).
An anaesthesia technician at a hospital: 2000₪ per month.
We had talked for a long time with the anesthesia technician (we had no idea there was such a proffesion) at her home. While she was at high school the army had shoot her boyfriend. She used to visit him at the hospital and saw him die with great anguish. She didn't tell her parents about him or his death, but she decided to study anesthetics. Her eyes filled up with tears as she told us she had no wish for revenge. She doesn't want to waist her life at home with her children; she wants a job, a car and a good life. The hospital she worked for didn't have a budget and she was fired. At the moment she is unemployed. Her biggest dream is to have a permit to leave the bank and study at Hadasa in Jerusalem. She asked us whether Israelis knew about the hard conditions in which the Palestinians live. When we said that most Israelis aren't interested in what was going on at Nablus and see all Palestinians at potential terrorists, she was amazed.
'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-16-2008Awarta: 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-16-2008Huwara: 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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