Beit Furik, Huwwara, Fri 8.8.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
9:00- Beit Furik
When we arrived we noticed a military Hammer by the checkpoint.
On the bench by the detention cell were three detainees. Two of them were handcuffed. The one that didn't have any handcuffs on said he was a resident of eastern Jerusalem, he drove the two others with him in his car, one of them was from Anata and the other from Beit Furik, they didn't have a permit allowing them to drive on that road (the apartheid road destined for Jews alone). They were on their way to bring food for the family gathering after their mother's death a week ago, they didn't know they couldn't drive on that road.
When we asked the soldiers why they were arrested the commander (second lieutenant) said- "They were arrested because they are Palestinians". He later said they had broken the law. He also said that they had called the blue police about twenty minutes before we arrived.
We decided to go to Huwwara and return later to see whether the police arrived.
9:25- Huwwara
The officer (second lieutenant) said that we must only speak to him. According to him his soldiers don't know how to talk and occasionally they "don't speak so nicely". He also reminded us not to pass the blue line. He complained that some Watch women walk to the detention cell, and speak to the Palestinians. We told him that it was part of our job and that is just what we must do.
His reply was that a month before hand someone tried to pass some explosives through the checkpoint and that when we talk to the Palestinians that are passing, and especially when we talk to detainees, we distract the soldiers attention and disturb them while they are doing their job. We answered that the soldiers shouldn't be looking at us at all. He repeated his demand that we don't pass the blue line. We reminded him that they don't restrict "Women in Blue".
On the other side of the fence a taxi was being inspected. The passengers of the taxi, an elder man of 70 with two children, an elder woman and a younger on, stood in the sun for half an hour while the cab was inspected and only then were they allowed to return to it.
10:00 Beit Furik
We came back to Beit Furik. The soldiers said that the policemen did come and that they had released the detainees.
.
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)
.
Shoshi AnbarMay-18-2025Huwara: The old houses in Area C
-