Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 7.4.08, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
13.45 Shaar Hashomron.
We were surprised to find no police. Along the road we saw Palestinians walking.
Marda … open. Zeita, Jamien. Closed. Like any other day in the last year.
13.50 Za'tara.
From the west 10 cars. Even though there were many soldiers at the checkpoint not much checking. A minute later we see why, a change in shift. Then they go through and this was so until we left the checkpoint. 8 cars from the north. No detainees. No dogtrainer.
A cauliflower is thrown out on the road and we will have to make up a story as to why this is so because the Palestinians not throw such valuable articles on the road.
14.00 Huwwara.
As soon as we arrive a man tells us of a girl who has already been detained for half an hour and her ID taken from her. We meet the girl who is exhausted from her studies and long wait at the checkpoint. She has to prepare for an exam tomorrow morning. She is 19 years old, a student at A-Nagach and lives in a village of which the name is unknown to us and which we are ashamed to admit we could not understand. But on her ID is written that she is from Gaza. Her parents left there for the West Bank 10 years ago but only her father has managed to change the place of residence as is necessary. Her brother is also detained each morning for years. In the beginning she was very suspicious and hostile but softened as time went by and she warmed to us. We promised to do what we could and phoned Dana at the centre and also R. who said that he has been dealing with the matter for the past half an hour and the whole army knows about this. Her father is a military judge of the Palestinian Authority and their DCO is on their way to deal with the matter as well.
In the meantime at the checkpoint: The x-ray device is very busy and the goods of a household are sent through. The dogtrainer is not present.
The car lane. A trade v ehicle is checked for 7 minutes by 4 soldiers. The passengers stand at the back at a distance of 20 metres. The sergeant, E., the commander brings a chair for the girl N. so that she can rest for a while. At first she refuses but then puts her packages on the chair.
A military policewoman shouts at an elderly man in a suit and who is police to stand at the side of the fast lane. "You will wait for your son for three hours and do so in silence." The man moves backwards and his eyes look at mine and he says, "You see the Falasha. There they were nothing and here she thinks that she is a queen. She shouts at him, "Because you are bothering me here. Why are you stuck here at the post." He is angry and shouts back "Try to learn some history and some manners before you tell me how to behave." And with those words he leaves the checkpoint. The policewoman does not calm down and tells everyone the story. "What does he want to bring me history and other matters here. What nonsense is this?" Riva tries to speak to her. "When you have time come here and I will try to teach you something about history." The policewoman does not likes this attempt to educate her and complains to the sergeant who is responsible for her that we "spoke to her." He in turn says "Lady please do not speak to my soldiers…you hear me?" From a distance of 20 metres. He refuses to come hear so that we can hear him. As if he is the most elegant in the world he says, "I am very busy and will come if I have time." We saw him no more.
AT 15.00 We give N. our phone number and go to Beit Furik
15.15 Beit Furik.
3 cars going through about 1-2 minutes. J. is the commander and reminds us that a few days ago he was helped by Machsomwatch women to get a permit for someone from Jenin who wanted to enter Beit Furik. We were surprised that a commander needs our help. He himself could do this through the DCO. He was glad to tell us that all was quiet with no special alerts today. The cars are sent through in turn once from Nablus and once from Beit Furik.He tells us that there are new orders to close the checkpoint at 23.00, all the checkpoints, and this is making things difficult for the soldiers as they now have long shifts.
15.40 Huwwara.
When we come back we are sorry to find N. still there. Her father is standing next to her and shows us his ID and that he is a resident of the West Bank. Again we phone the DCO and speak to D. and are passed on to T. who is trying to solve the problem. He says he has been phoning the DCO each half hour to find out what is happening. N. tells us that while we were gone the commander had taken the chair away without saying a word. One of the military policewomen has been staring at her in a frightening way and she is scared to stand alone. Our presence makes her feel safer and warms her.
We leave at 16.15 and she promised to let us know when she was freed. 20 minutes later we were happy to hear that she was on her way home. D. from the DCO also phoned to tell us and said that the girl must now see to change her ID as otherwise she will have problems every time.
16.45 Za'tara.
A large trade van is detained in the checkpoint and two people stand next to it about 20 metres away while the dog checks. 12 cars wait from the north and 3 from the west.
At Shaar Shomron only one Israeli car and the soldier waves us through and greets us.
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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