Beit Furik, Huwwara, Sat 20.9.08, Morning
Natanya translating.
Early in the morning we received a report of a very bad incident at Asira A-Kibliya.
A boy of 15 had been shot and killed and it was said that he had been involved in an attempt to throw a burning Molotov cocktail. The identity of the boy was not known, nor his age nor place of residence. It seems that when it is necessary we know how to do exactly what is necessary.
When we got to Huwwara we already saw an stretcher covered with a white sheet. The ambulance had left by the time we got to the place but passers by said that the boy had been suspected of throwing a burning bottle.
Huwwara.
We got there at 10.45. The checkpoint was practically empty in both directions. The average time for a car or pedestrian to go through was 10 minutes. Many Israeli cars on their way to Nablus and all passed without problems.
On the other hand a van with Palestinian plates and which did not have a license to enter Nablus was not allowed through. The heroes of the occupation can probably explain this absurdity.
A police van arrived and this time for a change not to chase away "the disturbers of the soldiers."
Two Israeli cars had to show their IDs and license numbers and were immediately allowed through to Nablus. We do not know what was happening and wrote down the numbers of the police cars.
The soldier/driver saw us and came out angrily to asks what we were doing there. And why had we written down the number of his car. Evidently one of those closely guarded secrets of the checkpoint where 100s of people pass each day and see what is happening. We said that we were documenting what we saw and asked if we had committed some transgression. The next question was, "Who allows you to be here?" We were a bit taken aback and asked, "Are we not in an area which is populated by the settlers all along the way and they run around all over here even though today is Saturday. So then our IDs were demanded which we showed. "Oh so you are not settlers?" "No we are from Jerusalem." "So put a hat on your heads against the sun as it is hot here." We parted with no goodbyes.
)nce more in who knows how many times we can remark on the vulgar and rude behavior of the
military policewomen.
Beit Furik. Nothing to report.
We returned to Jerusalem at 13.30
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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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