Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 17.10.07, Morning
Translation: Nina S.
7.20 – Zaatra
13 cars are waiting from the west including 2 busses, but soon one bus continues on his way and 15 minutes late the line dissolved.
A few cars are in line from the north; a number of men walked to the CP and were sent back.
Car checking is randomal.
A woman is guided by a soldier and military police to the parking lot. She is sent to stand by a sand bag protected concrete cubicle next to the CP. Then the girl soldier takes her under the camouflage nets, under the guard tower. A short while later they immerge, the woman has her ID returned and she walks back to the bus that has been waiting for her at the western entrance to the junction.
7.52 – we left.
8.01 – junction roads 57/60. The CP in the north south direction is manned. Checking is only by observation; there are 20 cars in line.
8.07 – Huwwara
As we arrived, the chap responsible for the cabs asks our intervention to get a shade for the drivers and toilets in the parking lot. The faucets, installed next to the path, were functioning and had water.
2 active CPs and a ‘humanitarian'.
The screening car is working, getting to it involves hopping over the concrete barrier as the opening, that was there, has been blocked by metal rods.
There are few pedestrians leaving town. Passage into town is brisk.
A man arrived at the CP with a lighted cigarette in his hands, he is being rebuked by the soldier.
8.24 – another CP is opened.
There is no line of cars neither leaving town nor entering it.
At some point some of the men are requested to take off their belts and lift shirts, all of them have to lift their pants.
8.45 A detainee is sent to the detainee cubicle. His cellular phone is taken away. In spite of his chattels having been checked by the screening car, a soldier and girl soldier are checking them again next to the pedestrian CP. The detainee, who looks about 20 years old, is asked to take off his trousers. He does not seem to understand what is required of him, he does not understand Hebrew, and they shout at him.
At 9.08 he is released to continue on his way, not before a search amongst the soldiers, has to be undertaken, to locate his cellular. Now, the phone has been found, he has to juggle across the turnstile and almost gets stuck there due to his big suitcase and the narrow size of the stile.
8.53 – An ambulance arrives from the south, hooting. It is being checked instantly.
9.22 – We left as all this time things functioned much the same. There are few pedestrians leaving town and few cars.
9.32 – Beit Furik
5 cars in line to go into Nablus, there are no delays, but for the actual checkup at the CP.
At one point we worry that a fire engine, on an urgent call, will not be let out of town. But it is allowed to pass and drives on, on ‘Medison', the road to Saalem/Dir el Hateb.
As we stand next to the awning over the CP, a short distance from the turnstiles, the soldier checking pedestrians threatens to stop checking unless we move away. We left and complained to the humanitarian centre. K. Said she will check the matter.
Meantime, a man wishing to enter Beit Furik is requested to open his cases on the concrete, wall separating road and pedestrian passage. We photograph the incidence and a soldier shouts at us not to photograph. We did not take any notice of him.
We met an acquaintance from Beit Furik who said that for the last 2 days the CP was only opened at 6.30 AM instead of 5 AM. Others said it was opened at 6 AM.
10.00 – as there were few cars and pedestrians we left.
Oh yes, we met Osama coming back from Nablus. He got his permit and now has Palestinian ID. Good luck to him.
10.10 – The CP at junction 57/60 is still working, 16 cars in line.
At Huwwara we met the father of one of the kids that were attacked by soldiers, at Urif village, a few weeks ago. They lodged a complaint with the army via "Yesh Din". He told us that this resulted in his loosing his magnetic card (that enables him to work in Israel). We gave him Sylvia's phone and also connected him with Yesh Din.
10.30 – Zaatara – 3 cars in line from the north and no cars from the West.
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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