Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 22.10.07, Afternoon
Translation: Ruth F.
13:20 – A checkpoint at the entrance to Palestine, in front of Sha'ar Shomron. It was still there when we made our way home at 16:55.
13:40- Za'atara/Tapouah-
We counted 7 vehicles from the east, 3 were to the south. The checkpoint commander told us that there were no restrictions on the traffic, but that there were many alerts- about a car with a bomb, about three suicide terrorists and about a shooting from a passing car.
13:50- Burin junction/Yitzhar-
The checkpoint was there as usual, but it wasn't manned. We were surprised, there were so many alerts and yet the checkpoint wasn't manned.
14:00 Beit Furik-
Before we came near the checkpoint a cab driver said to us that "the soldiers at the checkpoint are scum". As soon as we got there the checkpoint commander ordered us to leave and declared an "interruption of life". We complained at the Center. But even though we stood back the traffic had been renewed only after several minutes, at 14:12.
An elder man asked us politely to leave. Some of the young boys were more explicit about it, and eventually they are right, they are trying to have some sort of a daily routine. We left, we can only report that the traffic at the checkpoint was usual relatively to these hours, both for pedestrians and vehicles.
13:50- Huwwara
Three posts were open. The length of the line was as it usually is at these hours (about half of the shed was full). Young men took their belts off before stepping into the metal detector, some of them were told to get undressed- raise their shirts and show their stomachs, turn and show their backs, pull their trousers up and show their ankles. Two men said that the waiting time was of about half an hour, women and elder men passed in a separate line through the side gate. Some of the pedestrians, especially those with bags and packages were sent to the x-ray machine. They jumped over the low wall and passed the road between the cars just to reach it, afterwards they made their way back to the checkpoint to received their IDs back, by the same way. The soldier wouldn't allowd men to dress on the other side of the checkpoint. The soldier in the inspection post, checking the cars that were heading towards Nablus, was took this issue very seriously and was quite blunt about it. "Ruh min hun", "Ruh, Ruh, don't stand there", and the checkpoint commander said to us, when we asked him about this issue, that "He should dress outside, he is endangering my soldiers".
The traffic-
At the entrance to Nablus IDs and permits were checked, there wasn't much traffic and the passage was usually quick. The lined seemed to be longer at the exit from Nablus. At the exit they preformed the usual inspection- the solider made a signal with his hand, telling the person to come towards him, the driver came close to the checkpoint, stopped several meters from it, the passengers got off and made the rest of the way by foot. The driver drove to the checkpoint alone, the inspection included the inside of the car and its trunk, one person was told to lift the hood of the car engine as well. The passengers were sent with their bags to the x-ray machine, men went through the same inspection that the pedestrians went through. It was only after the soldiers checked the IDs of the passengers that they were allowed to head on. The time of the inspection was of between 3 minutes for a car with no passenger to 13 minutes for a car with five passengers (although in this case the soldiers wasted 3 minutes chatting over something they found in the bag of one of the passengers, a conversation that seemed to be amusing judging by the smiles on the soldiers faces).
When we arrived there were two detainees in the cell. They said they were detained for over two hours. The checkpoint commander said that they had only been there fro 15 minutes and promised it would take only another 15 minutes until they were released. They were detained because they disturbed the soldiers at their work, "they yelled and behaved badly, and in such a situation a bullet might just accidentally be shot and then…". They were indeed released after 15 minutes.
At 15:45 – another young man was detained. His friend told us that the young man was told to take of his belt, but he didn't understand as he didn't speak Hebrew. The checkpoint commander promised that the young man would be released after 10 minutes. The two incidents were what the soldiers might call "discipline problems".
Merav and Riva reported last week (a report from the 15th of October) about a young woman who said that the soldiers declared she was a suicide terrorist and put her in the cell. A military police woman told us that the brother of the woman was imprisoned in Nablus and that she "wanted to take it out of us, she tried hitting us". The blue police didn't come even though the soldiers called them. The soldiers called the family and they came to the checkpoint with the woman's ID and released her.
Sights from the checkpoint-
A well dressed attorney fixed his suit under the shed, he put his watch on, after having taking it off for the metal detector. He told us that he was on his way to an important meeting. The solider drove him away.
A couple passed through the checkpoint, a baby that was born only several weeks before was in the father's arms. A soldier said to us "move away from here", and then said to the soldier that tried telling her to give up that "No, they are rude", and then back at us, "your presence is disturbing us".
16:25 Za'atara/Tapouah- We counted about 21 vehicles from the south and 13 cars from the east.
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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