Beit Furik, Burin (Yitzhar), Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), יום ג’ 13.5.08, בוקר
Translation: Suzanne O.
A particularly difficult day, there are a lot of roadblocks all the way from Shomron roadblock at the entrance to the West Bank up to Huwwara and Beit Furiq together with impossible behaviour on the part of the soldiers at Beit Furiq roadblock.
The frustration and our inability to change things make us despair.
There is a police roadblock at the entrance to the Western Bank with the policemen just glancing at those entering and there are another three of these roadblocks within a kilometre.
At the entrance to Ariel, just like every day, the police direct the traffic, the entrance to Marda is open, the entrance to Zeita is closed by a barrier.
Za'atra (Tapuach) Junction
7:50 a.m.
From the west it was already clear that there are problems, about 27 cars wait in a convoy, there is only one checkpoint, from time to time a vehicle is sent to the car park for a more thorough inspection.
A transit van is being inspected, there is a suitcase in the road and the dog sniffs inside it, it is closed, the passengers' documents are returned to them and they drive on.
An additional taxi approaches for inspection and the same process is repeated.
We go across the roundabout and stop at a jam the like of which we have not seen during the four years we have been doing this route.
There are hundreds of cars from Nablus, and the queue is so long that it also blocks the road to Nablus.
We waited 20 minutes and, suddenly, an order comes from we know not where and the roadblock is opened and tens of cars cross without any inspection at all. When we ask what happened the answer is because of traffic jams.
When we left some 70 cars were still queuing to cross because, after the jam was freed up, another order was received and they returned to inspecting each car.
On the way to Za'atra Junction the road is experiencing heavy traffic, there is a roadblock at Yitzhar Junction and about 17 cars which have just crossed at Huwwara now queue here for another inspection. We decided to drive directly to Beit Furiq, a glance at the Huwwara roadblock shows that it is relatively quiet there.
Beit Furiq roadblock
8:30 a.m.
Obtuseness and wickedness: this is the way the roadblock is run today.
We get out of the vehicle next to a queue of vehicles which we can't see the end of. The drivers are furious and report that they have been waiting since 6:00 a.m. Lorries full of cheese, chicks, eggs, a doctor, a taxi with an ill person and the cars are inspected one at a time. The soldiers take a break from time to time. There is only one checkpoint for cars entering and leaving. When we ask why another checkpoint is not opened there is no reaction.
We contacted the DCO, they told us that they are aware of the situation, there are problems throughout the area and, starting from Sunday, we have to contact Zaharan, he is our point of contact at the DCO.
We contacted Chana who, it turns out, is aware of the situation and has dealt with it without success but promises to try again. Meanwhile the soldiers stop inspecting and stand chatting among themselves, the fuming drivers approach the roadblock with a number of cars and at this the soldiers start to direct the traffic: they send the drivers away, empty the road and meanwhile not one vehicle crosses.
We tried to contact the brigade and, although we were told off for doing so, we were promised that they would look into why the soldiers had stopped the vehicles crossing, we were told that there are orders to carry out thorough inspections and they are aware of the problems in the area.
This contact did not help either and after the soldiers started to inspect vehicles again we left the roadblock frustrated.
There were very few pedestrians crossing and they did so quickly.
Huwwara roadblock
9:30 a.m.
The car park is packed and the market is busy. When we ask the drivers how things are going today they reply that today is a good day.
Indeed the roadblock is relaxed the commander, R., comes over to us ‘women' asking how we are, about 20 people queue to cross in the usual procedure but fast and relaxed. This is also true for the cars from both directions.
10:00 a.m.
We left meaning to return to Za'atra to find out what is going on there.
By the roundabout there are 150 women cyclists from various countries in the world, particularly for the Middle Eastern countries (there were no Israelis among them) but large groups of Lebanese, and they are on their way to Nablus. Although they formed a small traffic jam it moved on quickly.
Yitzhar Junction
The roadblock is still functioning.
Za'atra Junction
10:30 a.m.
The picture is completely different, there are about 30 cars waiting to cross from the direction of Nablus and the inspection is speedy. There is not one car from the west.
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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Burin (Yitzhar)
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Burin (Yitzhar)
This is a Palestinian village in the Nablus governorate, a little south of Nablus, on the main road passing through the West Bank. The settlements: Yitzhar and Har Bracha, settled in locations that surrounded the village, placed fences so it is cut off the main road.
There are around 4000 inhabitants. Most of them are engaged in agriculture and pasture, although many graduates of the two secondary schools continue to study at the university. Academic positions are hardly available, they find work as builderd, or leave for the Gulf countries.
The village lands were appropriated several times for the establishment of Israeli settlements and military bases, and as a result, Burin's land and water resources dwindled. lSince 1982, more than 2,000 dunams of village land have been declared "state land" and then transferred to Har Bracha settlement.
Over the past few years and more so since 2017, the villagers have been terrorized by the residents of Yitzhar and Har Bracha, the Givat Ronen outpost and others. Despite the close proximity of soldiers to an IDF base close to one of the village's schools, residents are suffering from numerous stone-throwing events, vehicle and fire arson, also reported in the press.
In 2023, the prevention of the olive harvest in the village plot was more violent than ever. Soldiers and settlers walked with drawn weapons between the houses of the village and demanded that people stop harvesting in the village itself and in the private plots outside the village. The settlers from Yitzhar and Giv'at Roned raided the olive groves and stole crops. 300 olive trees belonging to the residents of Burin, near Yitzhar, were uprooted. The loss of livelihood from the olives causes long-term economic damage to the farmers' families, bringing them to the point of starvation.
(updated for November 2023)
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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 AkfaMay-13-2008Huwara: 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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