Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 5.3.08, Afternoon
Translation: Hanna K.
On the way to Huwwara: At Marda – the gate is open.
At Zeita – the gate is shut.
14:30 Za'tara/Tapuah junction :
On the lift side of the road leading to Huwwara two handcuffed men with their eyes bound, are sitting with their back to the road. Near them there are a few soldiers, policemen and demolition experts, a military vehicle and a vehicle carrying the demolition experts. One of the soldiers came up to us and asked us politely to retreat 1-2 meters, so that we shouldl not be hurt "if there is another explosion".
To our question they replied that they caught the two terrorists trying to pass a mortar (don't you see the remnants?) and other war materials (we saw next to them a few broken pipes) and that they were waiting for them to be transferred.
14:40 Huwwara CP:
The presence of many soldiers, officers and DCO people as compared to that of very few Palestinians we very evident.
In the checking celle there was a man without handcuffs. When we asked about him it transpired that he was waiting for a security check.
Few people enter Nablus, without being checked.
According to the soldiers there are no limitations imposed on those leaving Nablus. The waiting time is approximately 20 minutes, from the moment a person reaches the CP until he leaves. The shed is always full, but there is no pressure. The people pass in two queues, through two turnstiles, there are beeps, coats are removed, belts and even watches. The woman pass at the humanitarian gate. From time to time some bags are taken to be checked in the X-Ray Machine. Everything progresses quietly and calmly and this is really depressing. We leave for Beit Furik.
15:20 Beit Furik:
The driver of a big truck, loaded with wooden planks waits patiently to enter (about 20 minutes) saying that the exit queue is very long, one cannot see how many cars and trucks are waiting to leave, but every 2-3 minutes a car leaves, after its passengers were checked outside of it, as well as the booth.
From time to time 2-3 cars are allowed to enter in the opposite direction, and then again they return to the cars that with to leave.
At every given moment there are about 10-20 pedestrians at the exit, they pass, are being checked, as well as their IDs and their bags, outside the damaged facilities.
There are few ingoing pedestrians, their IDs and bags are also checked.
16:00 We return to Huwwara.
On the way we see a tractor digging on a completely deserted ridge, to the right of the road. We tried to find out what was happening there and where exactly , but after a tortuous drive among the isolated buildings on the hills of Yitamar which are quite distant from each other, we despaired of finding our way to this "new building site?" .
16:20 Huwwara:
A man turned to us by the intermediary of a Hebrew speaking friend, asking us to help him obtain an authorization to bring his sick mother in his car for medical treatment in Nablus. Millete called Nomi L. who promised to do her best.
The detainee from the checking shed has been released. Still there are relatively few people leaving Nablus, among them Students with all their learning apparel. The passage at the CP takes about 7 minutes. There are no pedestrians.
A few cars pass after presenting their certificates.
16:50 We left. The Za'tara junction is empty.
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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Fathiya AkfaMar-05-2008Huwara: traffic jam on the main road
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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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