Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 3.5.09, Afternoon
Translation: Tal H.
14:55 Tapuach Za'tara Junction Checkpoint
No vehicles waiting in line. Lots of army.
15:15 Huwwara Checkpoint
No X-ray truck, only sniffer dog and trainer. Shooting post manned in the middle of the roundabout at the entry junction, gun pointed at approaching traffic.
Vehicle checking post:
Cars wait about 20 minute to half an hour to be inspected.
As we arrive we notice a car with Israeli license plates standing at the side of the checking lane. It is from Anata (East Jerusalem) and is refused entry to Nablus. We learn that some new instruction? forbids East Jerusalemites entry to Nablus except on Saturdays. The driver's keys and ID are taken from him and he has to wait for half an hour before he gets them back and is sent back where he came from.
A cab driver wants to transport a small agricultural machine, the MPwoman refuses, he has to leave it somewhere else and the inspection of his car takes place in his absence.
Passengers are sent to wait further than usual today by the soldier standing proudly at the side of a civilian van parked at the entrance to the compound, which we learn is a Shabak (Security Services) mobile unit. "Where do you want them?" asks the MPwoman. Far. Further, he gestures. The system reveals itself eventually: stacks of Palestinian IDs are taken from the young men in the pedestrian waiting lines and while these wait at the 'waiting area' near the lines, the DCO representative delivers them to the Shabak fellows who 'check them' and either at random or not send for one of them, than another, than another for a personal 'interview' inside the van. After waiting for an hour or two, the groups of men are then handed back their IDs and sent on their way.
16:40 Border Patrol jeep arrives and delivers two BPmen who join the vehicle checking post as what seem to be monitors.
16:55 Sniffer dog trainer checks vehicles without her dog in an added lane.
17:05 The Shabak interview mobile unit takes off.
At the pedestrian checking posts:
Taxi drivers crowd very much closer to the entry turnstile today. Apparently the soldiers are too busy otherwise so no "securing" soldiers cling to the waiting lines where they usually are on the lookout for the drivers to hunt them and send them into the detention cubicle. One of the drivers ask us to report that last time he was sent there, two soldiers hit him on his back with their rifle butt, and the officer only released him when he said he wanted to lodge a complaint.
An elderly, elegant man, in impeccable English, approaches and asks us to fid out what is happening with the new entry-to-Nablus instructions – how come East Jerusalemites are suddenly barred from entering the city (except on Saturday visits)? What is going to happen to all those coming into the city to work, like university professors and doctors, and others?
The air is heavy with the oppressive desert storm cum local quarry dust, and the added delight of the MPwoman's barks (sic!) into the loudspeakers, bored and crass: "Come on, get back!!!"
*** We try to inquire on the DCO hotline about the prohibited entry of East Jerusalemites into Nablus and the soldier on line has no idea what we're talking about…
17:15 Beit Furik Checkpoint
Seven sleepy puppies lie on the road beyond the entrance.
Cars exit unchecked. A huge Israeli flag proudly flutters at the edge of the concrete ledge where we used to stand and hear from the soldiers about the serious threat to Israel's security hovering over the site for which we were required to move/stand further away/split or else.
At the entry lane to Nablus, a car is stopped. Its driver in traditional Islamic garb is required to open his trunk for superficial inspection.
We left at 17:30.
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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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