Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 21.1.08, Afternoon
Translation: Maureen A.
1:15 4 jeeps and army hummers are near the Kfar Marda gate; we didn't see any activity that justifies their presence. All the more so, since there is no gate there whatsoever.
Zeita Still blocked.
Za'tara There are no cars whatsoever at the checkpoint. Not from the west, not inside the checkpoint and not from the north.
13:40 Beit Furik
A soldier approaches us and announces that he is closing the checkpoint because of our presence. Merav tries to show the paper signed by the attorney general to him and to the military policewoman who came up right behind him, but she is rejected rudely: "Your papers don't interest me!" "The checkpoint is closed; the people are suffering because of you."
T., the DCO representative on the spot is helpless in face of the soldiers' behavior. He tries to convince us to withdraw to behind the white line: "But he doesn't want to open the checkpoint; what can I do to him?"
We called R., who said – they will get an order to open up the checkpoint right away.
In the meantime, the policewomen are talking to someone over their radio- phone – "We're checking whether you are allowed to stand inside the checkpoint." One of them threatens to arrest us. "She's a military policewoman; she has the authority to arrest any citizen she wants, for three hours." I remind her of the fact that she is a military policewoman and that her authority is limited to soldiers…
The minutes pass and the checkpoint is still not open. There's a line forming from both directions – those going to Nablus and those wanting to leave. One car is standing on the entry road to Nablus, waiting with us till the end of the drama.
13:55 Another telephone call to R., who says, they will get an order to open up the checkpoint immediately. It should have been opened up already. Why don't you talk to my representative at the checkpoint? We explained to him that the representative is helpless against the soldiers…
Moran goes to talk to those coming from Beit Furik, to find out whether they would prefer that we back off. The answer is absolutely clear: they prefer to wait a few minutes and that we stay put.
14:03 An ambulance with blinking lights arrives at the checkpoint. After a moment of consideration, it is allowed to pass. A line of four more cars is waiting to pass through towards Beit Furik.
14:10 R., calls us – the complaint regarding the soldiers' behavior is on the brigade commander's desk; they will be tried in court.
We left….
14:25 Huwwara
At the entrance to the checkpoint we meet a man who says – there's a long line. It is taking a long time to check each one.
We met A., the DCO Commander – He says there haven't been any unusual events, only "a new shift, so they are being a little stricter right now."
Suddenly – shouting – "Who jumped on the fence?? You go through last, did you hear me?? Go back, get out of here, to the line, I don't care," a soldier is teaching the Palestinian people manners.
An old man comes out of the Humanitarian gate and asks me – why are they shouting? We're human beings and they are human beings, just that they have guns and we don't… I pick up my pen: this is our weapon. He answers: Thank you. More power to you.
There's a canine unit around.
14:45 An old man, supported by two younger men, collapses near the entrance for vehicles from Nablus. It turns out that he was released from the hospital and he is on his way home. The two accompanying him are his son and his grandson. The problem is that his grandson looks older that the age that is allowed to go through the checkpoint without an identity card; they are now waiting for the boy's father to bring his identity card. Luckily, the father is a taxi driver, so it doesn't take long till he arrives.
14:55 A woman has fainted. We called A., the DCO, who came immediately, accompanied by B., the checkpoint commander. A. immediately calls an ambulance to take her and, in the meantime, she is led away – supported by four other women – to the Humanitarian Point. Yes, yes, there is one, and it is even active. It seems she is anemic.
15:02 An ambulance reaches the checkpoint.
15:10 The ambulance leaves the checkpoint area in the direction of Nablus.
15:45 A young man is detained. The policewoman shouts to the checkpoint commander: We have a Hamas groupie here. We called A., the DCO, to check out the meaning of the issue. So – really – it seems that the young man has "forbidden" pictures in his cell phone. The young man disappears from our sight and we are not able to find out what happened to him.
A bus – checked out carefully by the canine unit (there was a change of shifts while we were there), the time frame for the check – five minutes. The policewoman arrives with a pile of identity cards and gives them to the checkpoint commander, who simply puts them aside, since he is busy at the moment. The identity cards are returned, without being checked.
16:30 Za'tara
Three cars from the north; they go through quickly.
There's no line at all from the west.
Beit Furik checkpoint
See all reports for this place-
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)
-
Huwwara
See all reports for this place-
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)
.
Shoshi AnbarMay-18-2025Huwara: The old houses in Area C
-
Za'tara (Tapuah)
See all reports for this place-
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
-
