Beit Furik, Burin (Yitzhar), Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Tue 30.9.08, Afternoon
Translation: Ruth F.
It was the first day of the Id El Fiter. It is custom to visit ones family on this day, but the Nablus checkpoints were empty. On the previous year we saw families dressed in festive clothes, children were holding gifts and they were on their way to see their families. The checkpoints were crowded, women and children that passed through the fast lanes, waiting for the men. But on this day the checkpoints were empty. We asked a young man at Huwwara who had passed at the checkpoint on his our, without his family. He said: "it's because of the situation".
16:43 Burin Junction (about 200 meters after the junction, on the road leading to Huwwara)-
There was a rolling checkpoint of the BP unit, it was meant for those heading south.
The checkpoint commander was very firm, we were a security risk and so he told us to leave immediately.
Two cabs were waiting. There were five men with several children in one of them. They were from the village Adama. Their IDs were handed back to four of them a few minutes after we arrived. One of them was a journalist from Kuwait. He wanted to take photos of us and was most excited to meet peace activists that were against the checkpoints. We were also very excited.
In the other cab were five Palestinians and three international activists. The IDs were taken from the Palestinians, the activists didn't have to show their passports. While we were waiting there two other cabs were pulled over, the waiting time was cut short from about 20 minutes to only 5. Only big transit cabs were pulled over. Privet vehicles and cabs were permitted to head on.
17:05 Huwwara
There were few pedestrians and vehicles here as well. The representative of the DCO wasn't present here as well. Two lines were intended for men and one for women and elders. IDs were checked. The men passed through a metal detector, they had to empty their pockets and take their belts off. Some were sent to the x-ray machine at the other side of the checkpoint. "Yalla zamale ta'al wahad wahad".
There were few pedestrians. IDs and permits were checked at the entrance to Nablus. IDs and permits of cab drivers were also inspected at the exit from Nablus, their trunk was also checked. The passengers were permitted, due to the holiday to reach the checkpoint while remaining in the car with the driver.
As soon as we arrived a young man was told to lean on the middle inspection booth facing the booth. The soldier kicked him to spread his legs. He then preformed a physical inspection on him- he felt his legs, crotch and stomach. The soldiers laughed "look he is shivering". The whole thing went on for about half a minute. The ID was handed back to the young man and he headed off (I asked him why he was searched. He was shivering and went on. I gave up. From what the soldiers said it seems to me that they though he had something in his pocket).
A 14 year old boy wasn't permitted to pass. He didn't have an ID. He headed on with his two uncles to visit their relatives in Nablus. They were standing next to us pointing on the boy. Dafna spoke to the military line who passed it on to the DCO who also passed it on to the checkpoint commander. We were told that the child will be permitted to pass. The uncles signaled the boy but he was to scared to come near. One of the uncles entered Nablus again to join the boy. The boy came to the counter with the uncle, he was bending down. They passed. They were smiling with relief as they passed by us.
18:00 Beit Furik
Very few pedestrians were there. There were also only a few vehicles, the inspection was preformed simultaneously on both sides. Some drivers had to open the hood of their car. Everyone was permitted to pass due to the holiday (on regular days the checkpoint is only for Beit Dajan and Beit Furik residents). "People from Dubai were here today" one of the soldiers said proudly.
18:40 The rolling checkpoint at Burin wasn't active any more.
18:45 Za'tara (Tapouah)- Two vehicles from Nablus were standing in line, the checkpoint was empty for those coming 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)
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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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