Huwwara & Beit Furik
Huwwara and Beit Furik, Monday 14.3.05, PMObservers: Hagit P., Riva B., Maki S., Hagar K. (reporting)14:00 – G’at Junction: no checkpointSarrah: The checkpoint was entirely empty. We stayed a minute and left.Huwwara South: No checkpoint. Although we were told in the past that the elimination of Huwwara south, when it actually happens, means free entrance to Nablus for pedestrians and cars, that is not the case: cars are checked at the northern checkpoint, and pedestrians are also checked there randomly. So, this way the army can take pride in the removal of the checkpoint, without any real change on the ground (since the inspection at the south has been random for a long time). Altogether, the traffic is light. When we arrived, we estimate there were above 100 men and women at the checkpoint, but, during the shift, the checkpoint became quite empty.The line is moving relatively quickly, but the custom of aiming weapons at the line by the guard has returned. A conversation with the soldier didn’t help, also not with the commander, A. They explained to us that this is necessary in case a terrorist comes. We tried to explain to them why this is problematic – to say the least – to aim a rifle over a civilian population at the checkpoint. Finally, the soldier responded and hid his rifle – although it was still aimed at the line – behind the sandbags. The soldier who came afterward was bigger, so the same “arrangement” didn’t work as well as with the previous soldier. A. continued to say that this was the policy and there is nothing to do about it.15:00 – When the line thinned out, we decided to split up – Maki and Hagit were left at Huwwara, Riva and I went to Beit Furik.Huwwara: One detainee during the shift, who was released after a few minutes. One of the turnstiles got stuck when a woman was imprisoned inside. A terrible scene. After a little while, soldiers were called to fix it, who took apart the turnstile and released the woman.Beit Furik: The checkpoint was almost empty. The line was short and the female soldiers from the military police are inspecting those passing through relatively politely, but not so effectively. Most of the time, it doesn’t matter – since there was practically no movement at the checkpoint, so no line formed. However, it was enough for one small group to come, and the line lengthened. The Palestinians testify that this lack of efficiency was characteristic of the whole morning, when the traffic was lively, and the waiting at the checkpoint was quite lengthy. In spite of the light traffic, sometimes only one person at a time, everyone was directed to go through the electric turnstiles.A taxi without a permit asked to enter Nablus. The driver had purchased just now and something was wrong with the motor. The official garage, he said, was only in Nablus or Jerusalem and, since he is from Beit Furik, entering Nablus was necessary. He had a permit, but the vehicle didn’t. He went to the checkpoint commander and asked to enter. The commander told him that he would check it out. We were optimistic for a moment – here was a soldier who was ready to use common sense. But, after a few minutes, the taxi driver was refused. We and he refuse to accept the verdict. We tried to talk with the commander, but he was stubborn. A phone call to the DCO and the taxi was allowed in.A truck whose driver was from Beit Jala was not allowed to leave Nablus. Although the truck had entered with a permit in the morning, through the same checkpoint. He had unloaded his merchandise and now the driver wanted to return home. This didn’t really interest anyone, and the driver was told to go back to Nablus. Another phone call to the DCO. They promised to check the matter. Time passes, no answer. One of the female soldiers explained to us, in total innocence, that this was totally up to the checkpoint commander to decide, and “every commander has his own rules.” We asked her if she thinks that the Palestinians can run their lives under this arbitrary regime. An hour later, A. arrived at the checkpoint, an officer wit the rank of Captain. We ask him to intervene. He claims that he can’t help, but in fact there is another checkpoint very nearby, Awarta (“back to back”), and there the truck could go through. Everyone nods in agreement. Why, then, was the driver sent back to Nablus and this simple information was not given to him? The checkpoint commanders hold the solutions.16:35 – Tapuah Junction. 24 cars in a long line from the direction of Nablus. The cars stand there for about 20 minutes. In the other directions, the lines are much shorter.
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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Ronit Dahan-RamatiAug-24-2026Huwara: The school on the outskirts of town and an outpost hidden among the trees
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