Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 13.1.08, Afternoon
Translation: Tal H.
15:10 – 17:45
On our way: driving along highway no. 5
Past Ariel colony the highway narrows into a pot-holed two-way road (one lane in each direction). Ariel is brightly lit and spacious, while at its feet, Marda village is strangled by this "step-sister" that has grown on top of it and the fence that has enclosed it. Marda villagers who until a few days ago could access the main road by foot and wait for a passing service taxi, can now do so only through the village's main entrance. The entrance further to the west, blocked with a dirt mound and an iron barrier that prevents vehicle passage, has yesterday been blocked with barbed wire thus eliminating another passageway for humans and livestock. On our way back into Israel we note the sky above Marda a bright orange color from an illuminating bomb.
It reminds us of the stories we learned in our youth about the Hagana's offense tactics in 1948 which would lead to massive expulsion of indigenous communities by scaring, closure and killing…
Access to Zeita village and its neighbors on road no. 5 is also blocked. Passengers have to resort to back-to-back embarking.
Zatara-Tapuach Junction Checkpoint –
17 vehicles southbound from Nablus. There will be 13 vehicles in the same direction on our way back in the evening.
Huwwara village-town has been under curfew since 9 a.m. today, until 3 p.m. Why? "The army says someone threw stones at a colonist driver". Or perhaps this is punishment of the villagers for having dared complain about the colonist who was running wild with violent acts two weeks ago, smashing shop windows and car windshields and? Everything is possible.
No checkpoint at Yitzhar-Huwwara junction.
15:10 – Huwwara CP.
Dco representative – R.
No detainees. 3 long waiting lines of pedestrian males in the shed, 2 special side lines active all the time, 2 checking posts for vehicles exiting Nablus, one of them wo-manned by sniffer-dog and trainer, the dog leaping and drooling all over the car's upholstery, steering wheel and engine in search of the its hidden prize…
The dog trainer-operator: a delicate looking girl, her smooth hair in a ponytail, not tall, not heavyset, the girl next door, easily a classmate. What is she doing here with her M16, her German shepherd tied to her with a metal chain, her helmet, her large slung khakis?
An elderly man, hardly able to walk, drags himself along the side line, supported by two relatives. He can hardly cross the distance from the checkpoint to the taxi park, stopping to rest every few yards, one of his eyes bandaged.
A vehicle carrying lambs – purchased by a Nablus resident from a Beita village resident – is not allowed passage. He holds no special permit. What will the man do with the lambs? His own vehicle is waiting on the other side of the Checkpoint, not allowed to exit Nablus. Since even the DCO rep. cannot help, the lambs are taken off the vehicle and led on the road to the other side of the CP. "Wait! I haven't given you permission!" the soldier yells from his checking post.
A new line crosses the concrete compound at Huwwara CP: THE RED LINE. Before we leave for Beit Furik a sergeant arrives and demands we stand behind it only. The red line is a meter and a half further back from the former white line and has been drawn, so says the soldier, by the commander. A short argument over our rights and theirs, military or civilian area etc., ended with nothing. The sergeant says he will summon the commander to talk to us, but that does not happen.
Upon our return from Beit Furik at 17:15, the young men still fill the shed, reporting over two hours waiting in line. They exit the turnstiles frozen, coat and belt in hand. "The leaders only talk, they don't do a thing" they hiss crossly.
17:45 It is so cold that fear of hypothermia chases us into Nadim's warm car and we leave.
Beit Furik Checkpoint
15:40 – 17:10
It is extremely cold at Beit Furik. No detainees, hardly any pedestrians and the few who arrive pass rapidly. Belongings are inspected on the ground at the feet of the soldier who stands behind the ID checking post, until their owners pick them up and speed away from the cold.
Few vehicles waiting in line, about ten minutes each. This morning, say the drivers, they had to wait an hour and a half.
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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