Deir Sharaf, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 29.4.10, Afternoon
Translation: Hanna K.
15:20 Deir Sharaf/Barrels.
The road to Shavey Shomron is blocked. The passage to Nablus is free. The red signboard warning that the road leads to the A zone has been moved forward some more into the C zone.
We heard on the news about the damage caused to buildings in Huwwara, and as the second shift had not yet left we went there, instead of continuing as planned to Anabta and Irtah.
15:40 A military armored car blocks the passage from road no. 55 in the direction of the Za'tara/Tapuah Junction, but makes way for us.
15:50 A police jeep at the entrance to Yitzhar.
16:00 Huwwara CP
15 cars in the queue to leave Nablus. In the direction of the entrance border policemen and Nahal soldiers stop cars before the junction and the entrance to the parking lot. They detain and check each car. The spirits are high, the voices grow louder, they shout at the drivers.They watch so that no "just Israelis"(who are not Arabs) should enter Nablus. They probably check the religion of the drivers in cars with yellow nameplates, and randomally also Palestinian cars. The queue becomes longer.
The soldier does not understand why Israeli women should be against him."You are against the Checkpoints, which means that you are against us, the army, and that's a disgrace". When we reply that we are against the occupation his answer is "there is no occupation" and he caught this week four revolvers and a few knives. And if a son or a husband of ours would be killed, we would understand that the occupation is necessary, we don't want to conquer Nablus or Lebanon, but the Arabs want to kill us.
16:45 We go together with the owner of the Baklawa bakery to the house of his cousin which hat been hit by the people of Yitzhar in full daylight (we asked to get to the kindergarten which we heard had been hit too). On the way up the hill there is a mansion which an American relative had built. In the house there is a very elderly lady. She wasn't at home at 11:00 this morning when people from Yitzhar came down the hill bordering the house, and threw stones on it. Many windows are broken in the upper floors. They showed us the stones which they collected in the courtyard. According to them the police didn't arrive, and each month there are 5-6 cases of arson of cars and olive trees.
17:15 Za'tara/Tapuah junction. There are Palestinian cars in two queues and one passage for Israelis.
17:25 Near the big blockade of Zeita there are many cars waiting for passengers.
.
Deir Sharaf checkpoint
See all reports for this place-
Deir Sharaf checkpoint is located west of Nablus and south of the settlement of Shavei Shomron, at the entrance to the village of Deir Sharaf on the road leading to Nablus. The checkpoint was activated in early March 2009 after the Beit Iba checkpoint was closed. Palestinians are allowed through the checkpoint , but not for Israelis. Unlike the checkpoints leading to Qalqilya and Tulkarm, crossing of Israeli Palestinians is only allowed on Saturdays.
Nina SebaFeb-28-2024Deir Sharaf - the entrance to the village
-
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
-