Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Tue 22.5.12, Afternoon
We went to see what’s happening at the Tapuach junction.
15:30
As we approach Tapuach junction we count some 40 vehicles on line for inspection. We continue to Huwwara, intending to return to the junction later.
Huwwara:
Traffic in both directions. No soldiers at the checkpoint. Only as we come closer do we see a soldier peeking out of the round tower at the junction. A second soldier descends to the courtyard and calls to us. Wants to know who we are. We ask the purpose of the soldiers up in the tower. He says they occasionally stop Palestinians, but doesn’t elaborate. Politely asks us to leave because “here isn’t a good place for you,” “it’s not safe here for you.” We do as he asks and turn left onto Highway 555.
The road to Awarta is open; the checkpoint is gone.
15:55
Beit Furiq
– We see don’t see soldiers in the tower; the yellow iron bar isn’t blocking the way. Few cars go through.
We enter Itamar on our way back without flags or nametags, to get to know the locality that’s growing and taking over the surrounding hills. Red-roofed houses with well-kept gardens, and rows and rows of mobile homes.
16:30
We return to Tapuach junction via Huwwara. Still a long line of vehicles – about 30. Like others with yellow license plates, we also quickly bypass the line and reach the parking lot. Many cars stopped for inspection by a female Border Police soldier. The Palestinians are asked where they’re from. Two youths are removed from a yellow taxi and taken by a Border Police soldier to large fenced compound. The taxi waits for them in the parking lot.
A bus arrives, the two soldiers get on and ask the passengers to display their ID cards. Meanwhile one of the youths is released and rejoins the taxi passengers. We start talking with the driver. He says his passengers include a woman released from hospital in Nablus and her husband who’s accompanying her. They’re on their way home, but they’re forced to wait. He says all the taxis get stopped. Last week he waited two hours for four passengers who were removed from the taxi and taken for interrogation. A second taxi arrives in the parking lot, from which three youths had been removed and whose documents were taken. Meanwhile the female soldier stops every fourth or fifth taxi. The youths from the first taxi return after a 15-minute interrogation and it drives off.
17:00
The femaie soldier takes a break. The congestion finally eases and traffic begins flowing. We talk to one of the soldiers and learn they have orders to detain everyone arriving at the checkpoint from a particular village (apparently a different village each time). They’re removed from the vehicle and taken for interrogation. They’re questioned about their past, and if they’d committed a crime they’re asked whether they regret it. Everything is written down and kept.
A second Palestinian is released after about 35 minutes. After all have returned from the inspection building the second taxi continues on its way.
17:10
We leave.
17:30
Shomron gate – About 25 vehicles wait in four lanes, all limited to Israelis. An armed dog handler and dog at the right hand lane wait to inspect suspicious persons.
Beit Furik checkpoint
See all reports for this place-
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)
-
Huwwara
See all reports for this place-
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)
.
Shoshi AnbarMay-18-2025Huwara: The old houses in Area C
-
Za'tara (Tapuah)
See all reports for this place-
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.
Ronit Dahan-RamatiJun-9-2026Za'atara (Tapuach Junction). The Temple Flag Above a Station
-