Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 12.1.09, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
In general:
Throughout our shift Palestinians would occasionally come over to us, angry about what our army was doing in Gaza. We didn't have many excuses. We told them we represent the other Israelis.
14:30 Tapu'ach junction.
The checkpoint for traffic from Israel: three cars waiting, inspected quickly.
The checkpoint for traffic from Nablus: 2 inspection lanes, 8 cars waiting on each. Not all cars are inspected, only younger drivers are checked.
15:00 Huwwara checkpoint
We were welcomed by Y., the commander, and I., the DCO representative. They explained that the area of the checkpoint is sterile (they referred to the letter from the brigade commander).
We stood in our assigned location, next to the turnstiles, taxi drivers on the other side seeking passengers. About 30 people waiting to go through the checkpoint. We timed it.
The inspection is very mechanical: the person arriving at the metal detector empties his pockets onto the shelf, proceeds to the MP, places his ID card in the appropriate slot. Turns around, retrieves his possessions, meanwhile his ID is checked, and if there's no problem it goes to the appropriate window, the person collects it and exits. Today people don't have to remove shoes and belts. Like a well-oiled machine, untouched by human hands. It takes 13 minutes from the time someone arrives until he completes the procedure. Things aren't too bad today, since there aren't many people; it's exam time and most students don't have classes.
15:30 The vehicle checkpoint.
12 vehicles waiting to leave Nablus. 2 inspection booths. Most of the cars aren't checked. From time to time people have to get out of the vehicles.
The truck for detecting explosives stands off to the side. The porter passes TV sets through for inspection.
15:45
One vehicle inspection booth closes. The soldiers went to relieve the one serving as lookout.
The vehicle inspection procedure: A car drives up to the soldiers and stops, the driver presents his documents. Backs up, lets the passengers out. Returns to the soldier. Gets out to open the trunk. Inspection of its contents, which may be passed through the metal detector. When the inspection is completed the passengers get back in and the vehicle is released.
The soldiers who left the booth march over to the watch tower, apparently for a coffee break. The booth reopens only at 15:00, after a quarter of an hour,. Meanwhile a line of cars has formed. I. says that today's a good day, only a 45 minute wait. Everything's relative; what would an Israeli citizen say if he had to wait 45 minutes to get on the Ayalon Freeway?
16:35 Beit Furik – Empty.
We don't see the soldiers. They must be in the watchtower, sheltering from the cold.
16:50 Back to Huwwara.
5 taxi drivers in detention. They're being punished, to teach them a lesson. The soldiers ceaselessly pursue taxi drivers who come too near the turnstiles looking for passengers.
Suddenly: We notice two more people being held in the inspection booth that was brought from the old checkpoint (on the far side of the turnstile). We ask I., who tells us "What are you talking about, that's not an inspection booth, it has no door or roof…" But we see that people are being held there. It turns out they're also taxi drivers, who were released after a talk with the commander and promises they made to him.
To the attention of Machsom Watch observers who go to Huwwara: Check whether there are detainees in the old inspection booth, which is hard to see from where we are "officially" stationed.
We returned to our station, and saw that the knafeh seller had joined the detainees. It turns out that a curfew had been imposed on Huwwara, and he was caught because he hadn't closed his shop fast enough. The Border Police ordered that he be detained at the checkpoint. While we were trying to find out what was going on, he disappeared, together with the taxi drivers.
17:20 We proceed to the ORG meeting , planning to buy falafel for our meeting, but unfortunately there's a "curfew" and all the stores in Huwwara village are closed. Why? The war in the south! That'll show them.
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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