Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 21.10.07, Morning
Translation: Suzanne O.
Za'atra roadblock
7:40 a.m.
7:40 a.m.
There are four cars at the entrance.
We counted 85 in the queue to exit!!
We went back to the checkpoint. When we asked, a taxi driver at the beginning of the queue told us he had been waiting for one hour and twenty minutes. Drivers sound their horns in protest. Two checkpoints function without delays. We approached the roadblock commander to ask why there are no reinforcements and he answered that he had called for some. And, indeed, within minutes another team arrived and they opened a third lane.
A taxi with eight passengers that was detained (for a reason unknown to us – apparently the usual one: "a warning") is sent to the car park, there the passengers are taken out and the taxi is inspected minutely for 20 minutes with the help of the dog. At the end of all the sniffing the dog leaves its saliva on the taxi's seats.
One of the passengers – labourers on their way to work in Ramallah – told me that he understands the reason for the search but, according to their religion, the dog's contact is an insult.
Edna went over to the dog-handler with a question/grouse: why does she not wipe the dog's saliva off the car seats? She responded that she usually has a cloth and does clean up, but today she was under pressure…
Beit Furiq roadblock
8:25
There are eight cars in the queue at the entrance.
There are few pedestrians crossing.
Huwwara
8:40 a.m.
At this point in time there are about 10 people in the shed for those crossing.
A detainee is in the cell. We were told that he is a Shabak detainee (‘bingo') and they are waiting for Shabak agents to arrive. (Before we left a car with Shabak agents arrived but by the time we left they had still not approached the detainee.)
The roadblock commander, N., functions humanely and considerately, this dictates the humane and totally non-aggressive conduct of the soldiers (this might sound like an oxymoron in reference to the existence of the roadblock but that's the way things are). N.'s humane approach was expressed in a lengthy conversation we had with him, and which we also heard in the estimation of several Palestinian ‘denizens' of the roadblock.
Za'atra Junction
10:30 a.m.
Traffic is light and there are no queues.
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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