Huwwara, Jit, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 14.10.07, Morning
Rachel B., Translation
The intolerable ease with which the I.D.F opens up {new} checkpoints that delay the Palestinian travelers by several hours beyond those they already spend at permanent checkpoints..
Za'tara: 7:40 AM
10 cars are at the west-east checkpoint. There are no cars at the north-south checkpoint.
Yitzhar Junction 7:45 AM
There are 10 cars waiting.
Huwwara: 7:55 AM
Several drivers approach us and tell us about what happened yesterday at the Yitzhar Junction – cars had to wait for 2 hours.
8:50 AM A teenage boy is returned to Nablus and we overhear a soldier {saying}: "Bring you father! If you don't go {back to Nablus} you'll sit here for 5 hours!"
When we ask the soldier why the boy was sent back we are told "Because he caused a raucous."
8:20 AM Very light traffic to and from Nablus. Those coming out of town: mostly families who are well dressed – evidently to celebrate the end of Eid El Fetr, which takes place today. The children stand out especially in their festive clothes.
8:25 AM A young man who exits the turnstiles stops to talk to us. the soldier yells at him: "Clear the turnstile area!" The young man answers him that he is talking to us. The soldier: "Talk to them outside the area of the checkpoint! Talk to them in the sewer!"
There is light traffic to and from Nablus.
8:55 AM A Palestinian man wants to go through with his car towards Nablus. He does not have a permit to enter the town, but says that he is not actually going into town but, rather , to his house which is very near the checkpoint. He claims that he is usually permitted to go through. The soldier checking him does not allow him to get through. And here, we find our selves trapped in the checkpoint maze. By the time we ourselves got through the windy checkpoint, the man had turned his car around and gone back.
9:50 AM There are about 30 people at the checkpoint. The District Coordination Office commander on location observes the way things are proceeding at the turnstiles. We hear him calling towards a female soldier: "What kind of behavior is this?" She, on her part, mumbles something in response. He was not willing to tell us what the soldier did that was wrong.
10:10 AM We left the checkpoint.
10:15 Yitzhar Junction
There are 23 cars at the checkpoint.
11:00 AM We return to Yitzhar Junction: there are 33 cars waiting. When we ask the commander why the line is so long we are told: "It's a checkpoint!" The actual examinations of each car are, indeed, proceeding rather quickly – a minute or two per car- but there is heavy traffic and thus the passengers have to wait a long time here.
We call the I.D.F. Humanitarian Center and are referred to the spokesperson – Tzidki. He listens to Yael patiently and promises to look into the matter.
11:15 AM We were given a report that there is a long line at the Jit Junction so we go over there. There are 45 cars at the checkpoint. Several drivers who are already rather close to the checkpoint itself tell us they have been waiting for an hour. We report to Tzidki again about what's going on at Jit. He seems willing to take care of the problem.
11:30 AM Tzidki tells us that the high level of pressure and long lines at the checkpoints is due to the combined factors of the end of the holiday, with many people traveling away from home, and a security alert in the region.
Powerless to do anything, we leave the checkpoint.
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
-
Jit Junction
See all reports for this place-
The checkpoint is located on Route 60 near at the junction with Route 55, near the village of Jit. There was a checkpoint for vehicles passing between the north and south of the West Bank, which was abolished towards 2010. Since then, surprise checkpoints have been set up there from time to time with a police or Border Police vehicle, and vehicles and their passengers are inspected.
Anat PolakJul-17-2025Yitzhar Road, Jit Junction: traffic jam
-
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
-