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Beit Furik, Huwwara, Jit, Za’tara (Tapuah), יום ו’ 22.8.08, בוקר

Observers: Ofra T., Nili F., and Michal V. (reporting)
Aug-22-2008
| Morning

Translation:  Suzanne O.


Tapuach Junction

8:45 a.m. 

There were six cars queuing at the junction in the direction of Nablus.

A Palestinian bus, on its way from Nablus to Bethlehem, was held up and its passengers taken off for inspection.  The passengers' baggage was also inspected.  The passengers were put in two separate lines; one for men and one for women.

After about a quarter of an hour the passengers' ID cards were returned to them and they got back on the bus.  One of the passengers, a young man in his twenties, was detained.  The other passengers refused to leave without him and insisted on waiting until he was released.  In answer to our question an officer, a reservist with the rank of captain, claimed that the man was "wanted for questioning", and that they had passed his name on to Beit El.  We asked why, if that was the case, the man had not been detained at Huwwara and the officer replied, "that's a good question".

The soldiers ordered the passengers to stay on the bus and refused to let some elderly passengers use the toilets.  We asked the reservists why the passengers were not permitted to use the facilities and they replied: "It's not a public toilet".  The soldiers told us not to come closer and we complained to the officer.  The officer told them to take no notice of us.

We approached the detained Palestinian.  He told us that he was taking his young wife; they have been married for five months, on a trip to Bethlehem.

At 9:15 a.m. the reservist officer went to the young Palestinian, returned his ID card and told him to report to "Captain Sahar (or Sa'ar) at Huwwara on the following Tuesday.  Perhaps, with ‘good luck', a new collaborator has been recruited?


Beit Furiq

9:30 a.m. 

On the inner fence a new, incomprehensible, notice has been put up ‘checkpoint – mounted'.


Huwwara

10:00 a.m. 

There were two women standing by the x-ray machine, waiting for their bags.  We realised that there was a problem with the machine and drew it to the notice of the soldiers.  The machine was repaired and the women got their bags back.


Jit Junction – at the entrance to Huwwara
10:20 a.m. 

A police car parked at the junction started to stop cars.

  • 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

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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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  • Jit Junction

    See all reports for this place
    • The checkpoint is located on Route 60 near at the junction with Route 55, near the village of Jit. There was a checkpoint for vehicles passing between the north and south of the West Bank, which was abolished towards 2010. Since then, surprise checkpoints have been set up there from time to time with a police or Border Police vehicle, and vehicles and their passengers are inspected.

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      Jul-17-2025
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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.  
      זעתרא (צומת תפוח). שלטים
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      Sep-27-2023
      Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
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