Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 17.12.07, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
13.25 – At the hitching post near Ariel there was an armoured car and 5 armed soldiers.
At 1645 there were 3 soldiers only.
Marda was open but Zeita still closed.
Za'tara –
23 cars in both directions and swift passage. The commander says there are no special alerts and people have their IDs checked.
13.55 Checkpoint at Beit Furik.
As soon as we arrived the commander , a sergeant C. Z. shouted at us that we had overdone it and that we were acting with a "small head." We had only got there and already we were getting it. We saw about 20 pedestrians and cars passing without delay. Checking of IDs, baggage compartment.
The commander complains about us on the communication device saying that we were bothering them at their work, causing a commotion and wandering around their legs. Merav films and he tries to stop her with his body. He stops both the car lane and that of the pedestrian and demands that we move off.
People start piling up. Merav phones the humanitarian centre and complains about his behaviour. One of the soldiers shouts at us that people were hurrying at home and to work and because of us were being delayed.
14.05 – We moved back and the commander came to demand that Merav give her name and we in turn demanded that he give his full name. We go behind the white line but he does not open the checkpoint. It takes a few minutes more. The people say they have been waiting an hour. We also see people wanting to enter Nablus being detained. It takes two minutes before the turnstiles are opened.
14.35 Huwwara.
3 lines in the beginning and some people are told to remove their belts and others not. It is not clear to us how it is decided who should do so. A bus stops and the people get down, the dog checks and two minutes later go on their way.2 dogs with their trainers in the area.
A police car arrives with a young man handcuffed who is taken to the isolation. It seems he was caught by the police ( a car thief) but they have been called to another incident and so will use the isolation.
At 16.00 they returned to take him away.
On the way to the isolation the policeman shouts at us to get out of the way and that we are too near. We do not understand as we had not passed the white line. He insists and so we move to a "new white line".
After he left we moved to our original position.
14.40 One lane is cancelled because the soldier guarding the woman soldier has left his post and she cannot check people when unguarded.
15.05 A military policewoman shouts at the Palestinians who are complaining at the length of time they have to wait. "Go back. Go back. You will wait as long as I want you to and if necessary you will wait 4 hours."
A truck has been detained for two hours because it travelled on the Madison road.
15.08 The third line starts again to work as the commander noticed what is happening and angry that the military policewoman did not bring this to his notice before.
A young man says he has been detained two hours.
2 cars are checked at the same time by the dogtrainer.
16.00 The police return to take the man. The delinquent truck after 3 hours goes on its way.
16.30 The entrance to the village of Beita is blocked by an armoured car and a soldier aims his weapons at the cars. We entered the road and then while 5 cars ahead of us want to enter and the same number to leave the soldiers allow them through, first one then the other, Maybe because they saw our car.
16.40 Za'tara 13 cars in both directions.
At the entrance to Marda an armoured car which does not block the way.
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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