Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sat 12.4.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
An overview:
There were no irregular events during this shift. Most of our activity was to explain to our guests about the Land of the Settlers and the horrors of the occupation.
We left Jerusalem at 6:45.
Za'tara:
We arrived at 7:30, forty vehicles were on line. As soon as we parked our car, a captain from the reserves came to us, he seemed to be the checkpoint commander. By the look on his face we saw he was rather surprised to meet us so early at "his checkpoint". We tried finding out whether he was the commander and asked him politely for how long he would be in the reserves. The answer we got was that he "doesn't give out military secrets"- who are we to argue with such an ardent answer?
The average of time it took for a vehicle to pass was of 10-15 minutes. Passengers were taken of the busses but the inspection was "reasonable" in comparison to what we have seen in the pass. From time to time a vehicle was sent to the parking lot and went through a more severe inspection, but there was no violence. The dog trainer was on vacation- a blessed relief.
Beit Furik:
There was much traffic but the pace was quick. When we a bus full of young joyful girls was at the checkpoint, they were probably on their way to a field trip. The girls were told to pass the checkpoint by foot and the bus passed quickly after a short inspection. There were 8 vehicles in line. The drivers were "content" on the day (what is there to be content about?). We passed the white- no one took any interest in us or in our guests, and we had no conversations with the soldiers.
We explained to our guests about the reality in the villages at that area and the "wonders" of the "Madison road"- We learned again just how hard it is for people to understand this situation.
We parked by a truck full of eggs- when we tried to find out whether there was some kind of a problem we were told that there was none, and the driver claimed that he would have no trouble passing. Perhaps, our impression was different
ven though he didn't ask for our help we bough some good, fresh and cheep eggs, and then headed off.
9:30- Huwwara:
The parking lot was full, we had trouble finding a parking space. The market was full of people and as was already reported a large shed was placed there. At the end of the parking lot was a tent with some chairs, we found some elder women resting in it. There weren't many people in the checkpoint, perhaps due to the late hour. Everything was calm, even the military police soldiers didn't yell at us as they usually do. A' the checkpoint commander stood near us when we explained to our guest about the "logic" behind this checkpoint and the more general implications that the checkpoints bear on the Palestinians lives.
After the guests had left for Ramala for another meeting, he came to us and tried explaining to us that we were naïve and ignorant when it came to historical processes, that we put the soldiers at risk, they who "protect us from the hornet's nest in Nanlus" and that it was vital that they prevent from the Palestinians to pass from Nablus to Ramala. "Why do you hat your country" and "why don't you care about the damage you cause to your country", "don't you care about the soldier's lives"- Nothing new under the sun, as others had already said!
We had once again passed the white line. The commander asked that we stand back. We politely refused- we stayed where we were and were left alone. The Oketz unit didn't do much; they mostly rested while we were there.
"The Bird"- The solider sitting in the highest post kept noticing what was going on at the checkpoint, but we hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.
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The average passing time was of 15 minutes for the pedestrians. For vehicles heading southern of Nablus it took between 25 to 45 minutes. The whole time we were there no one was detained and all the vehicles were permitted to pass.
We left at 11:00.
Za'tara: No lines.
At Binyamin gate there was a Hummer on the side of the road, it was hidden- no vehicles were detained there either.
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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