Beit Furik, Huwwara, Sha`ar Shomron (Qasem), Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 17.9.08, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
14.20 Sha'ar Shomron, about 6 cars in the direction of Israel.
14.30 Marda is open. Zeita is closed and it seems that more piles of building materials have been added.
14.40 Za'tra (Tapuach).
No cars waiting at the entrance from the direction of Israel.
Few cars from Nablus and they pass fairly quickly.
14.50 Huwwara CP.
The pipe from the boiler at the entrance to the checkpoint is leaking but less than two weeks ago. There are no detainees and no one arrested in the checking booth. 3 cars waiting at the entrance, one in the lane and one at the exit. About 100 pedestrians waiting to be checked and filling the shed to the utmost. 3 checking posts are working at a good reasonable rate. The atmosphere is calm. The commander is apathetic with his back to us. In opposition to last time we were here no one shouts at the men who stop in the shed to put their belts on or to chat or wait for a friend.
15.30 The waiting period in the shed which we checked according to the number of the people was about 12-15 minutes. Many women, children and the elderly pass in the humanitarian lines.
5 cars at the entrance to Nablus and pass after their IDs have been checked one by one. Few leaving Nablue. A man coming through says that in the women's line is a student who does not speak Hebrew and she is not allowed to pass. I went pass the blue line up to the checking post and did not see anyone answering to the description either waiting or arguing with the soldiers. One of the soldiers said that everyone was allowed to pass. A car tried to enter Nablus and comes with the DCO representative but is not allowed to pass and turns round and goes back.
15.50 Beit Furik CP.
Few people or cars. 2 cars at the entrance. At the exit now and again a car is checked and goes through without delay. About 6 people in the shed and come out one by one. Now and again someone comes to the entrance and goes though after being checked.
16.30 Back to Huwwara CP.
Many people entering Nablus. A large group of people also leaving but most of those go through the humanitarian line and so as far as we can see there are only 60-70 men in the lines to be checked. 5 cars wait to enter Nablus.
16.45 No cars in either direction. The pedestrians, most of them students, go through with no problems or delays.
17.10 We leave.
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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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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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