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Azun Atma, Huwwara, Awarta and Beit Furiq

Observers: Esti V., and Nava A.
Jan-27-2011
| Morning

Translation:  Suzanne O.

 

The 'Beinish'* in Beit Furiq:  We are here to guard 50 metres of Madison Way, the Jews only road, to avoid strife between the Palestinians and the settlers.

 

Azun Atma

6:20 a.m. 

Roadblock routine:  the labourers are back to being crowded between the netting of the corral leading to the turnstile.  New today: the roadblock dance is back again.  A military policeman stands between the turnstile and the kiosk with the computer and asks each and every labourer to roll up his coat and expose his stomach.  It would be interesting to know if they have 'hot' warnings regarding the new danger posed by the Azun Atma labourers.  The inspection procedure holds the queue up and it is a long queue.

 

Shomron Crossing:  there is no police presence at the entrance and hardly any queue at the exit.

 

6:45 a.m.

The entrances to Marda and Zeita are open.

 

Za'atra/Tapuach

6:50 a.m. 

The traffic flows, the soldiers hardly look at those passing through.

 

Yitzhar/Borin roadblocks

There is no military activity.

 

Beit Furiq

7:15 a.m

The roadblock has risen from the dead.  3 Beinishes guard the line of spikes that has been laid out across the entrance lane to the town and the cars in both directions have to weave round it so as not to drive over the spikes.

 

We try to find out what's so special today and they explain that a new company is in charge and it is alert and responsible.  According to them the spikes are to guard Madison Way so that the Palestinians do not drive on it in the direction of the settlements so that no 'strife' is caused between them and the settlers on the 50 metres between Beit Furiq and the entrance to Nablus.

 

Awarta

7:25 a.m. 

The yellow arm still blocks the entrance/exit to Nablus.  A military vehicle is parked by the guard tower and an officer stands beside it.  According to him he is also guarding Madison Way so that Palestinians do not drive onto it.

 

Huwwara

7:45 a.m. 

There are no soldiers in the checkpoints today.  We made a u-turn in the roadblock area and no one noticed.  A Border Policeman who arrived in his vehicle stops the Palestinian traffic so that we can merge into it safely.  (He sends us to play with our grandchildren.)

 

A Border Police vehicle is parked at the exit from Huwwara, opposite the entrance to Beita.

 

Za'atra/Tapuach

There are very few vehicles passing through with no hindrance at all.

 

At Sha'ar Shomron there is no police presence at the exit from Israel and the inspection at the entrance is very superficial.

 

*Beinish = Yeshiva students serving a year under their special arrangement. 

  • '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.
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      Apr-23-2026
      Awarta Checkpoint is empty
  • 'Azzun 'Atma

    See all reports for this place
    • 'Azzun 'Atma
      A Palestinian village of about 1,800 residents. The settlement of Sha'arei Tikva was established on its land adjacent to it, and the settlement of Oranit was established on its agricultural lands. By 2013, the separation fence had passed through the village and a checkpoint staffed by the army allowed the residents to cross from side to side. After building a massive wall surrounding the village and some of its agricultural lands, the residents went daily for five years to their lands that remained in the Seam Zone through the Oranit agricultural checkpoint (4). Since 2018 it has only  opened during the olive harvest and the farmers have to pass daily at the Beit Amin / Abu Salman checkpoint (1447), about 3 kilometers north.

      From a report from March 24, 2021: "The farmers from Beit Amin and Azon Atma are happy that since February 21 the Oranit checkpoint .is going to be open 3 times a day, The farmers are really developing the place."

      Report from July 14, 2024: "Ornit checkpoint is closed . The Beit Amin/Abu Salman agricultural checkpoint is closed (there is no contact with the military to check if it opens rarely), the Ezbat Jaloud checkpoint was opened once a day before the war.

      Updated for July 2024

       

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  • 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)

      .
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  • Shomron Crossing

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    • Shomron Crossing The Shomron checkpoint for vehicles. is located east of Rosh HaAyin and Kafr Qassem, on Road 5 (Trans-Samaria) leading to Ariel and the Za'atara junction. It is intended for blue ID cardholders, foreign guests or diplomats, and international organizations only. In 2009 the management was entrusted to a civil security company.  
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  • 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.  
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