Beit Furik, Huwwara, Shomron Crossing, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 23.6.10, Morning
Translation: Suzanne O.
The 'classic' route
Azun Atma
7:30 a.m
2 children with jugs offer us coffee. A group of labourers await transport to their work. A soldier tells us that they opened the roadblock at 4:00 a.m. It is now quiet and only a few pedestrians cross the roadblock.
Sha'ar Shomron
7:45 a.m.
The traffic flows and there are no queues.
7:55 a.m.
As we continue along Road 5 there is a police barrier. The reason is not clear to us. The traffic flows and we drive on.
On the right the barrier to Kfar Marda is open and on the left the barrier to Jemayn, which was always closed, is open.
Za'atra/Tapuach Junction
8:15 a.m.
There is no queue and the traffic flows. There is one checkpoint and the inspections are random. When I take a photograph a soldier informs me that photography is not permitted. Ofra shows a document confirming that we are allowed to photograph. It is hard to convince the soldiers and they contact the commander. We leave.
8:30 a.m.
We drive through Huwwara village. Only some of the shops are open, however, there are many cars on the road.
We turn right to Beit Furiq. At Awarta roadblock (for goods only) the soldiers do not let us cross. We ask them the name of the village nearby but they do not know it.
9:00 a.m.
We arrive at Beit Furiq via a lovely, winding road. A sole soldier peeps through the window of a pillbox.
We continue to Huwwara roadblock. The traffic flows with no problems. There are 4 soldiers and a dog at the roadblock. When soldiers see me taking photographs they approach and ask us not to pass the yellow barrier. "There you can do anything…", a soldier tells us.
9:15 a.m.
We drive back via Road 60. At the junction there is a jeep and two soldiers. As we drive along, on the left there are two more soldiers standing at the entrance to a dirt road with no signpost.
9:30 a.m.
At the left turn to Road 5066 there are no labourers at the entrance to the roadblock to Hares.
We drive home via Sha'ar Shomron.
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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Shomron Crossing
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Shomron Crossing The Shomron checkpoint for vehicles. is located east of Rosh HaAyin and Kafr Qassem, on Road 5 (Trans-Samaria) leading to Ariel and the Za'atara junction. It is intended for blue ID cardholders, foreign guests or diplomats, and international organizations only. In 2009 the management was entrusted to a civil security company.
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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.
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