Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 2.1.08, Afternoon
Natanaya translating.
14.40 Za'tara. 2-3 cars and no delay.
15,.00 Huwwara.
Commander I. in charge carries out his work in a pleasant way and no delays of cars or people.
3 turnstiles working and the checking is carried out by military police guarded by soldiers with rifles aimed at the passersby. At the side a "humanitarian" line. There is also a mysterious unit there, the dog trainers but we did not see them in action.
16.20 Beit Furik.
A visit by high ranking officials all standing and discussing the situation which did not stop the commander from running up to command us to stand beyond the white line. We obstinately stayed where we were. Pedestrians kept on passing but the line of cars lengthened until we could not see the tail end. We understood that no cars were allowed to pass during the visit.
When the visit ended we asked one of the captains why this was so but he was so sensitive that he had not even noticed this. Time is the cheapest item for the Palestinians.
A grandfather and child try to pass to visit a prisoner in Ashkelon. The boy was 15 years old and was documented on the ID of his mother which he had. He was not allowed to pass without her. Luckily there was a captain of rank of the DCO, S., who helped them to get through and also explained to the soldiers that sometimes they should simply use their common sense.
A truck which had already waited an hour was detained because the soldiers said that he had a load which had to be inspected by the laboratory section. S. did not think this was necessary but they said that he was not in charge and could not give orders (how can one cope with the bureaucracy of the occupation?)
Even when we got to Kfar Kassem and asked Nadim to check the truck had still not passed through.
While we stood there Nadim saw an acquaintance who was having trouble with his ID. H. whom we phoned said he would try to deal with this and the DCO respresentatives arrived and sent him on his way home.
We wish to state two facts.
The Nablus DCO is willing to help and to listen to our requests.
Nadim is a wonderful help with the Palestinians.
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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