Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Thu 2.4.09, Afternoon
Natanya translating.
13.58 Za'tara.
From the west 2 cars and one checking post. From the north (from Nablus) 2 cars were being checked as we passed and the line emptied out. When we continued and saw the amount of cars coming we though of the line that would ensue.
14.07 Huwwara.
In the parking lot we met a neighbour of I. from Huwwara village who had been shot the previous week at the checkpoint. He said that only his brother was allowed to see him through the window of the hospital. He wanted to know what his condition was. We gave him the number of "Bestelem". We were told that he had been due to get married in the near future. We hear again of the harassment of the soldiers toward children and kiosk owners in the parking lot.
It seems that the cancellation of the pedestrian crossing through the shed of the checkpoint ( as we have heard more than once) will not happen in the near future, if at all, as had happened at Beit Iba. This is because of the new considerations of the occupation. This we heard from a representative of the army. On the other hand the Palestinians make a guess that the cancellation of the pedestrian crossing will come into affect after the "holidays" Passover, Yom Ha'atzmaut, Shavuot.
In the isolation is a detainee. His ID number appears on the list. A., the DCO representative, says that the detainee had been freed about 6 months ago from an Israeli jail. He said that he had also told the detainee to go to the DCO and ask that his name be taken off the list. Hope it will help.
14.45 The detainee was released.
Under the shed the pedestrians wait, between 8-13 minutes. Today is less pressured than on previous Thursdays.
The soldier in the armoured box checking the men uses the loudspeaker all the time and her voice is heard in the heavens. " What don't you understand, Muhammed Ahmad or however you are called." The side line which is supposed to go through quickly, the humanitarian, gets stuck now and again. From where we are allowed to watch is is not clear why.
15.28 Another detainee in the isolation …a taxi driver being punished.
At the entrance to Nablus there are many people going through. A woman with her baby in a carrier for babies, a blanket and a large bag. Each item goes through separately with the help of passersby. A woman who had difficult walking was allowed to pass through the handicapped entrance after we asked a military police captain to open the door even though he did not understand why he should do so.
A Palestinian standing next to the turnstile entering Nablus needed to get a document that someone from Nablus was bringing him…he had to go through the turnstile at the entrance and then afterwards had to stand in line to be checked again as all the others were.
We did not see a line of cars at the entrance. There were two checking areas for cars leaving Nablus. For a moment we thought that we saw the end of the line but this disappeard when we started to count. IDs of passengers were checked while they waited outside the car ….in 20 minutes 10 cars.
There was an x-ray machine but no dog.
16.05 Za'tara.
23 cars from the north and one checking area. We phoned the centre. A. promised to find out if it were possible to open another one.
16.10 Marda. 2 open gates. Zeita blocked as always.
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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