Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Tue 29.12.09, Afternoon
Zeita
We saw many people and cars next to the dirt mound blocking the entrance and stopped to check. There was an accident and a car had fallen into the ditch. Some people were able to push it out and there were no casualties.
Za’tara
We went through the checkpoint at 1405 on the way to Huwwara. It was quiet and there were about five cars on the Huwwara side.
Huwwara
We arrived at the checkpoint at 1445 after stopping to check what happened to the son of the shopkeeper we met two weeks ago. He was not able to speak to the Red Cross but said he was going to try to speak to the Moked and that anyway he paid the penalties and managed to speak to his son on the phone.
We stayed at the checkpoint for 20 minutes.
There is a new post at the entrance to the parking lot, manned by two soldiers. They approached us and asked for identification but when we were about to hand it, they said they don’t need it and allowed us to enter and park.
There are some constructions at the checkpoint. It seems that the road is being widened. We asked but the soldiers told us they don’t know what the construction plan is.
There were very few cars on both directions.
Nablus
We drove up mount Gerizim and through the Samaritan village and tried to find the road that bypasses Nablus towards Beit Iba but made a mistake and entered Nablus. We went through the checkpoint that informs drivers that they are entering Zone A but the soldiers did not stop us. We drove through Nablus and with some effort and lots of questions, managed to find the way to Beit Iba to which we arrived at 1640. The old checkpoint has been dismantled completely as if it never existed.
תרגום: חנה כ
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זיתא
ראינו הרבה אנשים ומכוניות ליד סוללת העפר שחוסמת את הכניסה, נעצרים כדי להיבדק ע"י חיילים.
הייתה שם תאונה ומכונית נפלה לתוך התעלה. כמה אנשים הצליחו לדחוף אותה החוצה ולא היו נפגעים.
זעתרה/תפוח
עברנו במחסום בשעה 14:05 בדרכנו לחווארה. היה שקט והיו כחמש מכוניות בצד של חווארה.
חווארה
הגענו למחסום בשעה 14:45, אחרי שעצרנו לבדוק מה קרה לבנו של בעל החנות, שאותו פגשנו לפני שבועיים. הוא לא הצליח לדבר עם הצלב האדום אך אמר שהוא מתכונן לדבר עם המוקד ושמכל מקום הוא שילם את הקנסות והצליח לדבר עם בנו בטלפון.
נשארנו במחסום כ-20 דקות.
יש עמדה חדשה בכניסה למגרש החניה, המאויישת על ידי שני חיילים. הם התקרבו אלינו וביקשו לראות מסמכים מזהים, אך כאשר עמדנו למסור להם אותם הם אמרו שאין להם צורך בהם והרשו לנו להיכנס ולחנות.
יש סימנים לבנייה במחסום. נראה שמרחיבים את הכביש. שאלנו, אך החיילים ענו לנו שהם אינם יודעים מהן תכניות הבניה.
היו מעט מאד מכוניות בשני הכיוונים.
שכם
נהגנו במעלה הר גריזים ועברנו בכפר השומרוני וניסינו למצוא את הכביש שעוקף את שכם לכיוון בית איבא, אך טעינו ונכנסנו לשכם. עברנו במחסום שמיידע את הנהגים שהם נכנסים לאזור א, אך החיילים לא עצרו אותנו. נהגנו דרך שכם, ובמאמץ מה והרבה שאלות הצלחנו למצוא את הדרך לבית איבא, שאליה הגענו בשעה 16:40. המחסום הישן פורק לגמרי כאילו לא היה קיים מעולם.
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.
Ronit Dahan-RamatiJun-9-2026Za'atara (Tapuach Junction). The Temple Flag Above a Station
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