Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Sun 15.2.09, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
7:25 Za'tara: 6 vehicles from the west, about 20 from the north.
7:30 Beita: A Border Police jeep is parked on the other side of the road to the village, facing it.
7:50 Huwwara:
A Palestinian who's come through the inspection calls our attention to the fact that one of the soldiers in the inspection booth is asleep. We tell the checkpoint commander, who defends her, says she's worked hard for many hours with no sleep. Listens to what we have to say and our views about the occupation, says there are a range of opinions and its important to listen to what everyone has to say, agrees that the situation of the Palestinians is terrible and doesn't like serving at the checkpoint.
About 50 people waiting at the turnstiles.
8:20 Many people going to Nablus. About 20 people crowding at the turnstile into the city.
A church volunteer standing near us notices a disabled person on the line, talks to the commander who opens the gate for handicapped persons; the other people who waited for the turnstile also take the opportunity to go through. It isn't clear why that gate is closed, just like many other much more serious things about the checkpoint and the occupation aren't clear.
8:40 We time how long people spend at the checkpoint. A young man waited 23 minutes.
9:05 Another man waited 35 minutes.
Anyone carrying a package has to open it and remove its contents for inspection. The designers of this fenced monster – the checkpoint – who invested so much of our tax money on it, made sure our soldiers are secure, but forgot the fact that the checkpoint is supposed to allow Palestinians to go through. They built narrow counters that haven't enough room to put things on them. In order that the contents of the package doesn't fall on the ground, the person being inspected has to manipulate it, lean his body forward to keep it on the counter and doesn't always succeed in preventing things from falling. It doesn't seem that the planners did so maliciously, just stupidly and without thinking of the Palestinians as human beings who are worthy of consideration.
9:35 A smaller number of people waiting at the checkpoint – about 40 now.
A station wagon carrying merchandise to Nablus is inspected. Other cars enter freely.
Vehicles leaving Nablus are inspected quickly, one or two minutes per car, but there are still many cars; we counted about 30 on line. One inspection lane, about 5 soldiers next to it. We ask the DCO representative to open a second lane. That's not possible; only MP's can conduct the inspection, but the soldiers standing there aren't MP's! (How could we have even considered making such an absurd suggestion!) We talked to A., the checkpoint commander, who promised to see whether an additional lane could be opened.
10:00 Awarta: About 20 trucks on line.
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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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Shoshi AnbarMay-18-2025Huwara: The old houses in Area C
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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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