Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 28.7.08, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
13:25 Shomron Gate – Increased police presence. No detainees.
13:45 – Ariel – Construction continues.
Marda – Both gates open.
Zeita Jama'in – Closed. The punishment continues.
13:50 Za'tara. One truck waiting from the west. From the north: 15 cars waiting in two lines to go through..
A soldier at the traffic circle, one at the hitchhiking location.
14:05 Huwwara
A long line of cars to enter Nablus. We counted ten cars.
Two detainees in isolation. One 20 years old, detained because he went through with a weapons belt, until they found out that he's a Palestinian policeman, and then he was released. The second, a "bingo," the GSS's daily lucky number; his wife and two children have been waiting for him during the entire time he's been held. When we arrived they complained that they've been waiting two hours. T., the DCO representative, told us that they were released in an hour and a half, at most.
The checkpoint is very crowded
The center vehicle lane exiting Nablus is blocked by a red plastic barrier. Someone hung an Israeli flag on it. "Flags, flags throughout the land…"
The x-ray vehicle is on site, but – "How sad it is to see an x-ray truck closed down" – the x-ray machine inside broke down two days ago, according to the DCO representative, which requires a much more careful inspection than usual, by hand, of bags and packages. That, in addition to a new crew of soldiers at the checkpoint, makes passing through much slower.
O., the 2nd lieutenant, goes over to the line of vehicles entering Nablus and succeeds in making it disappear in a relatively short time. Two women and five young men stand next to the vehicle barrier, arguing with O. After a few minutes they leave. We weren't able to discover what it was about.
From there, he runs over to the express lane and gets it flowing.
14:20 An argument among Palestinians next to the entry turnstile to Nablus. Someone is claiming that his cell phone was stolen and people begin hitting and pushing and crowding around. The soldiers respond by pointing their weapons and cocking them – as expected, the argument stresses them out.
14:30 Some yells at a guy at the turnstile, "Remove your shoes! Remove your shoes already! What's the matter, are you dumb? Remove your shoes already!"
The express lane sometimes moves quickly and sometimes annoyingly slowly. The route is blocked by a plastic barrier that only allows people to go through on a diagonal between the wall and where we're standing, women with children/babies/baskets/many bags have trouble getting through the narrow passage open to them. After a while, the line shifts and moves under the shed.
An elderly man passes by us, saying [in English], "Problem, much problem."
T. comes over every few minutes to help move the lines along – the express line as well as that of the vehicles entering Nablus.
14:40 Four soldiers arrive, one of them a 2nd lieutenant who speaks rudely to his subordinates: I don't care, get out of here, I mean now.
Passengers in vehicles being checked are asked to lift up their shirts.
14:55 Beit Furik.
The upper parking lot is empty. As far as we can see, about ten cars are on line coming from Nablus. Nine people are waiting at the turnstile to enter Nablus.
The First Sergeant, who introduces himself as the checkpoint commander, greets us in a very hostile manner – Could you please move over there behind the line?
No, we replied, we have a right to stand here.
He: I didn't ask you, I told you! Yalla, scat, go home! You're annoying me, I don't like looking at you..
Riva: There are many people I don't like seeing, but that doesn't mean they don't have the right to be where they are.
A second soldier joins the discussion, and tries to convince us: He's the checkpoint commander, and that's what he decided; you're interfering with our work.
We rebel: You're the ones interfering with yourselves! We're standing here quietly, and had no intention of talking to you, but you're the ones who choose to talk to us and pay attention to us.
After the attempt to convince us fails, the checkpoint goes back to operat normally.
An attempt to take photographs gets a response from one of the female MP's: "What's this – If I'm not mistaken, you're not allowed to photograph military operations …
Nur says: We're allowed to photograph contact with civilians. I'm a law abiding citizen.
The checkpoint commander: You're a citizen? – You? You're garbage! Exchange your ID card for a green one, and live in Palestine! Some citizen!
Riva: Palestine is right here.
The commander: So go live in Nablus!
We note that during this entire time, the checkpoint operated with no delays.
15:45 Huwwara
The isolation cell is empty when we return. The two detainees who greeted us at the start of our shift were, to our joy, released while we were in Beit Furik.
A religious man, accompanied by a girl about ten years old, argues with the checkpoint commander, and T. translates. After a few minutes he seems to give up, decides to leave his ID card and turns to go. He returns, as expected, receives it and drives away. It turns out that he got tired of the long wait, and tried to bypass the checkpoint through the parking lot. His daughter is sick and he has to get her home. Luckily, T. manages to convince A., the commander, to forget it and let him go on his way.
16:55 Za'tara – Five cars waiting from the north. The west side is empty.
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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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