Azzun, Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Tue 26.2.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
It was a gray Tuesday, which was becoming to the surroundings and circumstances… The police was directing the traffic at the exit from Ariel, on the other side was a blockage which Palestinians couldn't pass, everything was as usual. At Haras- a segment of dirt mounds which were "supported" with barbed wires, this prevents from the Palestinians from exiting by foot to road number 5.
Za'tara-
There were four cars from the east and twelve cars from Nablus. We didn't see any detained vehicles nor did we see people going through inspections.
There were no checkpoints on the rest of our way (Baita and Yitzhar).
Beit Furik-
Quiet. The soldiers were relaxed, courteous and polite towards us (apart for the military police soldier, they are always rude and enjoy their status of "When a Slave Reigns" and so they immediately make us singles with their hands to step behind the "Sacred Line"). Few people were coming in. The passage was quick. Few cars (about 5) were at the top of the hill and came down according to the regular routine, so that they would get their permit. This time everything moves relatively quickly, without any unnecessary delays. Even the procedure, in which the driver has to stop 20 meters from the soldier and then make the rest of the way by foot, including lifting his shirt, wasn't preformed. The driver would reach the soldiers with his car, come out, show his ID and from time to time they had a look in his car, then he would head on and the next one was inspected.
A Palestinian came to us, his brother's stolen car had been confiscated by the police on the day before. The man had forgotten his ID and keys in the car. By the checkpoint was a pail of things that had been thrown out of a car and that seemed familiar to him. The soldiers allowed him to look for the lost objects. He didn't find it and the soldier in the checkpoint also had a look and didn't find the ID. It was clear to the young man (who didn't speak Hebrew and therefore we used Nadim's help) that he had no other option but to get in touch with the police (and he said he had some connections).
The segregation at Huwwara had ended, they weren't inspecting those heading in (few people), and there were no detainees. Few people were coming out. It was all done relatively quickly. There were 2 inspection posts and one humanitarian line. The soldiers were calm and courteous. Hardly any cars were heading out. Few cars were entering, no other delays apart for a quick ID check by the polite soldier.
There wasn't an x-ray machine.
Very slowly the market is beginning to form. There was coffee, a stand with candy and a cart selling bagels. There was also a Falafel stand and the biggest innovation was a merchant selling vegetables on the pavement in the middle of the road (Eti got vegetables for the whole week).
It was rather cold. Since things seemed to be going well and T., the DCO representative was there, We left at about 10:00.
We made our way back on the road that pass by Azzun– nothing out of the ordinary- The road leading from the village was blocked. Apart for the residents in the villages on the way, we saw no one.
It was seemingly a quiet and relaxed day… wickedness! Wickedness! Wickedness!
'Azzun
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Azoun (updated February 2019)
A Palestinian town situated in Area B (under civil Palestinian control and Israeli security control),
on road 5 between Nablus and Qalqiliya, east of Nabi Elias village. The inhabitants are allowed to construct and improve infrastructures. The Separation Fence has confiscated lands belonging to the town's people. In 2018 olive tree groves owned by one of its inhabitants were confiscated for the sake of paving a road to bypass Nabi Elias. Azoun population numbers 13,000, its economic state dire. Its infrastructures are poor, neglect and poverty rampant. In the meantime, the town council has completed paving an internal road for the inhabitants' welfare.
Because of its proximity to the Jewish settler-colony of Karnei Shomron and its outposts, the town suffers the intense presence of the Israeli army, especially at nighttime: soldiers enter homes, arrest suspects, trash the house and sometimes ruin it, as they do in numerous places in the West Bank. At times a checkpoint closes the entrance to the town, so no one can come in or get out.
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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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