Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Tue 15.1.08, Morning
Translation: Rachel B.
We set out rather late after waiting for Yael who was on her way to Tel Aviv and could not arrive because of a problem with the train. We left without her.
On our way we saw that the openings in the fence around the village of Marda which lead to the road, were blocked by the army with barbed wire fencing, except, of course, for the main entrance to the village. At Zeita the passage is blocked too.
Za'tara Junction: 8:50 AM
There is a line of 10 cars going from west to east and about 30 cars going from the north to the south.
Huwwara: 9:00 MA
There are fewer than 20 people waiting in line., We left when there were on 10 people waiting. The atmosphere was very calm, possibly because it's already late in the day.
Before we left a young man approached us, a taxi driver, and complained (in a very organized, logical manner in Hebrew) about abuse by the soldiers of the residents of Beit Dajan who pass through the "Great Jordan Valley Checkpoint" (that was his term – we could not get a precise name from him). These villagers have plots in the Jordan Valley that they have to get to through the checkpoint to cultivate. The religious soldiers harass them, send them from place to place, subject them to aggressive questioning and repeated checks for no apparent reason. They treat them with contempt and humiliate them (even the elderly ones) and look for excuses for confrontations with them. He told us that this has been going on for several days but was afraid to give us his phone number. Finally he agreed to give me his phone number and I have it and, of course, will pass it along to whoever takes it upon themselves to investigate this situation.
Beit Fureik: 9:40 AM
There are 12 cars waiting at the entrance to Nablus and a few at the exit. The checkpoint commander takes the initiative to talk to us: a conversation/argument that can be summarized as: ‘Why don't you bring cakes and hamburgers from Tel Aviv for the soldiers to show that we are not only here to support the Palestinians but also to support our soldiers." There were about 10 soldiers there. We asked them to open a second station to check people through to reduce the waiting time. They, indeed, did open a second lane in each direction but the overall atmosphere was still of laziness and hostility towards the Palestinians.
Za'atra; 10:15 AM
There are 45 cars waiting in the lane heading south and only one station operating. The District Coordination Office representative explains to us that the soldiers went off for breakfast… this in response to our question about when additional stations will be opened. Before we had left the checkpoint, a second station was, indeed, opened.
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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