Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 28.10.09, Morning
Translation: Suzanne O.
Comments: Since we have not been out at this time for quite a long time we forgot to go into Azun Atma.
General: The soldiers are doing policing work but are sure that they are dealing with the safety of citizens like us.
Za'atra
6:50 a.m.
When we arrived there were very few vehicles from the north. Two checkpoints were open. Reservists were at the roadblock, although one of them identified himself as a regular officer. A vehicle with no registration plates arrived together with us, accompanied by a military vehicle. The registration plates (with an Israeli number) were in the boot and the soldiers tried to find a way to replace them on the vehicle. At the same time a minibus bearing Palestinian number plates was parked on site, held up because it was carrying 10 passengers instead of 8 (illegal, according to the soldiers). However, a few minutes after we arrived the vehicle, with its passengers, was permitted to continue on its way.
7:07 a.m.
We left and counted 35 cars queuing from the north.
Huwwara
7:15 a.m.
The inspection of vehicles entering and leaving was sporadic and infrequent. We noticed that vehicles with Israeli number plates were inspected at the entrance. While we were there no car was refused entrance.
A conversation which developed with one of the soldiers who tried to prevent us from standing even far from the vehicle checkpoint, gave an insight into what a Palestinian from Borin told us later.
Awarta
7:40 a.m.
The roadblock is staffed. There are no cars.
Beit Furiq
7:50 a.m.
The roadblock is staffed. Cars crossing from both directions are not inspected.
Since our impression is that the roadblocks were functioning, even if the soldiers staffing them do not inspect cars, we drove to the Palestinian villages in the area. We did not come across any Israeli military rolling checkpoints, but met with Palestinians who welcomed us warmly, hoping for an end to the occupation since even the 'easing' is not easy as long as they have to come across an Israeli soldier. In Borin, when we said that a soldier at Huwwara told us that he is there in order to guard us and that we should be careful, a Palestinian remarked that they want to divide the Jews and the Arabs.
Zeita – Jimayin
12:55 p.m
When we drove through we saw something that looked like a bulldozer breaking through and moving the mound of earth that barred the exit from the village to Road No.5. However, it was not so. We were wrong. "What, are you joking?" said the reservist: "This has been closed for a long time". "So what are you doing?" we asked. "We went in, did what we had to do and left", said the major who was wandering around. We cut through to the entrance to Marda and there a taxi driver told us that the army had gone into Jimayin, confiscated equipment from a quarry, sows, and small compressors and they also took away the quarry owner. We left our telephone number with the driver and asked him to give us the details of the man so that we can find out if we can do anything. The driver agreed but was also quite scared that the soldiers would notice that he was talking to us. This is the kind of threat that the occupation brings. We spoke to Raya about the incident and she too tried to find out details from other sources.
The taxi driver did not get back to us.
1.00 p.m. Barkan
The slopes of the hill are covered with new plantings (?).
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.
Shoshi AnbarSep-27-2023Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
-