Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 23.1.08, Morning
Translation: Ruth F.
7:50- Za'atara/Tapouah-
There weren't many cars from the west, but from the north there was much pressure even though three posts were active. While we were there things started to move faster. When we left we informed the Humanitarian Center and asked for their help.
7:30- Beit Furik
20 cars were waiting in the parking lot. Most of the cars inspected in the checkpoint were those coming form the villages (east), the inspections were preformed quickly and there were no delays. This was the procedure: The driver had to stop from a distance, raise his shirt and do the "belt dance". Afterwards his ID was inspected and so was his car.
From time to time a soldier from the car lanes turned his eyes to observe the pedestrians and asked those carrying baggage's to stop so that he could check them before they enter the checkpoint. This was the first time we had seen such a procedure there, it prolongs the waiting time of the vehicles.
The number of pedestrians grew, and between the cement bricks a large crowed was formed and the men and women got mixed because the soldier in charge of the order wouldn't let more then one person to pass the turnstile each time.
One person's ID was checked and he was sent back without his ID because he was smoking. The man was in a hurry to get to work, he was angry and started cursing. The soldier at the vehicle inspection post stopped everything so that he could arrest the man for his behavior. We pointed out to him that the checkpoint wasn't a closed territory and therefore smoking isn't forbidden in its grounds. Even some of the soldiers some, and it isn't not their job to educate the civil population and to enforce new Israeli laws on them. The soldier unwillingly agreed, but the man was afraid of moving. Since we asked the soldier allowed the man to enter the line, take his ID and head off.
8:00- A line of cars had accumulated from Nablus. We showed it to the soldiers and they started checking the other side as well. But only on one lane. The first in line was a truck- for some reasons it took 10 minutes to inspect it, during which nothing move. When the pressure was released we headed on.
8:30- Huwwara-
When we arrived there was only one active post because there weren't many people passing. Later on there were two. The inspection included a physical inspection, the removal of the belt and raising of the shirt. The dog trainer was walking about with her dog, and the x-ray machine was working.
According to D (who was polite and made an effort to answer our calls- the checkpoint under his command is run quietly and efficiently), earlier that morning there was much traffic. When we were there only several vehicles needed to pass.
8:45- Two women and one man who work at the university arrived at the checkpoint. They were performing a survey at their village, and they were heading to the church at Burin for a day of work. The man was arrested because the soldiers calmed his name was in the list, and someone was probably supposed to come and take him, they didn't put him in the cell. The women (one of which was a relative of the man ( were frightened and tried saying that the man had nothing to do with political activities, and that this was the first time he was ever arrested and he passes there everyday, sometimes more then once. After twenty minutes we started calling the Humanitarian Center and T', the DCO's representative. He promised he would help and suggested that the women head off without him. Eventually they did head off, not before exchanging phone numbers with us. In the mean while both the checkpoint commander and the DCO representative tried finding out whether there was any new info about the detainee. Eventually he was released without going through an investigation, but this took an hour and a half, at about the same time we left. We made sure of it while we were on our way and kept asking during the afternoon. We must point out that the DCO representative took care of him the whole time he was detained. The effect of his presence at the checkpoint if felt, and the Palestinians feel like they can approach him. The checkpoint commander and he work together which improves the grim reality at the checkpoint.
10:10 – We left.
When passing through Za'atara/Tapouah we saw several cars waiting, there wasn't much pressure.
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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