Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 23.7.08, Afternoon
Translation: Ruth F.
14:10- Za'tara-
A long line, at one point there were two lines with 23 cars and trucks. Vehicles were waiting by the exit to Nablus. In spite of that the pace was reasonable.
14:20- Huwwara checkpoint-
Cab drivers came to us asking why the passage at Za'tara was so slow during the morning; they had to wait there for over an hour.
There were no detainees at the checkpoint and no one had been arrested at the inspection posts. The shed was filled with people waiting for their inspection. Three inspection posts were active, but they all functioned very slowly, from time to time there were only two that were manned. The soldiers ignored us completely and a part for one time, they said nothing when we passed "the blue line", and that did happen a lot during this shift as we were trying to talk to the DCO representative who was most of the time by the entrance to the "humanitarian post".
The average waiting time we made out according to a couple of people was between 35 to 45 minutes.
The line of women, children and elders was crowded but it moved quickly, so after passing all that was left for them was to wait for their escorting men on the other side.
Few vehicles were entering Nablus, they didn't have to wait. The passage from Nablus was also quick, there were no buses and we didn't see luggage being inspected at the x-ray machine.
14:45- A young man came to us asking that we help his friend who had a Jordanian passport. He was being detained. He became very impatient, in contrast to his friend who was simply waiting that everything be cleared out. I approached the soldiers and eventually managed to talk to the DCO representative, I learned that they were simply checking his documents and that there was nothing else. I tried calming the man down, he had someone translate what I was saying to him. After a couple of minutes "the Jordanian" passed.
15:00- A women with a form requesting a permit to escort an invalid into Jerusalem, didn't understand to whom she was supposed to hand it. We called the DCO representative again and after a while he came unwillingly and explained to her what she had to do, she headed on her way with a taxi.
15:10- A group of women and children, all one family and some of them were visiting from the USA, was passing. We suggested that they stay with us by the shed used by the men. We had a short conversation with them. One soldier asked then to leave the shed but Sara insisted that they stay because of the heat.
15:25- Two young men who were a bit frightened arrived, their friend was taken into the inspection room. We tried finding out what was going on with him, but the soldier from the military police, who was guarding the locked room (from what?) wouldn't let us in to see him. He eventually said that he was taken for investigation. This caused an almost complete stop in the inspection of the others at the checkpoint.
We tried contacting the DCO representative for quite a while and when he finally came to give us some answeres his officer arrived, who very politely explained to us that there was a problem with his ID number and that rather frequently they arrest people who had been in jail ten year before hand, he was trying to get these people of the list. The person that was arrested had been asked several times to go to the DCO and get his information sorted out, but didn't do so. He was quickly discharged. The soldiers that were there were new so everything was working slowly.
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15:50- Beit Furik-
About 12 vehicles were waiting from Nablus. The inspection as usual was being preformed in one lane. There were 5 vehicles waiting from Beit Furik.
The inspection of pedestrians was being preformed under the shed. No one was entering and very few were exiting, they had to wait for only several minutes.
16:30- Za'tara-
A line of 43 vehicles. Nava help us and informed the DCO. O. said that strict inspections were being performed because of information they had about possible terrorist attacks.
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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