Beit Iba, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Wed 20.2.08, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
14.10 Marda is open and at Zeita there are many cars at the checkpoint in the direction of the village. One of the taxi drivers says that the people are thinking of going to court with the problem of the barrier at the entrance.
14.20 Za'tara/Tapuach. About 5 cars and traffic passes steadily.
14.30 Huwwara.
At the entrance to Nablus is a boiler with a sink and taps.
Those entering Nablus are also checked and people say that this has been so for some days. Women do not have to wait. One of the captains says that last week two Dan buses were shot at and there are alerts and therefore those entering are checked. Under the shed it seems to be crowded but the line is not long and three turnstiles are working. Karin checks that the period of waiting is about half an hour and that the women do not wait. While we were there a bus was waiting at the exit and so it was hard to see how many cars were there. Also a man went into the isolation saying that he was bingo and a few minutes later a lad handcuffed and blindfolded followed him. T. from the DCO said that the boy had said that he was 14 and it turned out that he was 17. He had been in the hills with his flock without an ID and his brother had gone to fetch it. The claim was that he had been watching the checkpoint.
Some time later "bingo" was freed and the captain said that the boy would be arrested and that he could keep him there for three hours. "And that if they would come in half an hour (so we were told) he would be freed. T. said that they were waiting for the captain who had brought him and he himself went to speak to him. We left with heavy hearts before we knew what would happen to him but Milat gave T. her phone number asking him to phone when the boy would be freed.
16.10 Beit Iba.
Not much movement and here IDs are checked at the etgnrance. Because of a problem with the traffic lights a line of about 10 cars formed at the exit of Nablus and in the other direction a truck was sent back. In the meantime Tomer phoned to say that the boy had been freed 15 minutes earlier.
Beit Iba
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A perimeter checkpoint west of the city of Nablus. Operated from 2001 to 2009 as one of the four permanent checkpoints closing on Nablus: Beit Furik and Awarta to the east and Hawara to the south. A pedestrian-only checkpoint, where MachsomWatch volunteers were present daily for several hours in the morning and afternoon to document the thousands of Palestinians waiting for hours in long queues with no shelter in the heat or rain, to leave the district city for anywhere else in the West Bank. From March 2009, as part of the easing of the Palestinian movement in the West Bank, it was abolished, without a trace, and without any adverse change in the security situation.
Neta EfroniJun-4-2014Beit-Iba checkpoint 22.04.04
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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)
.Fathiya AkfaJun-4-2014Huwara: 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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