Jordan Valley, Ma'ale Efrayim, Za'tara (Tapuah)
A new shed has sprung up in north Farsia west of the road one or two kilometers before the settlement of Mahula. The building has four pillars and a roof with a flag flying above it and stands at the top of a bald mountain. Four or five men are there, and the neighbors report that they have been there for a month. They arrive each morning and then go to the nearby settlement of Mahula to sleep. They are not connected to the water or electric system. It is not clear what they are doing there except that they are preventing the Palestinians from letting their flocks graze there. Are they inspecting the area and preparing to erect a new settlement like that at Um Zuka? Another unexplained phenomenon is that a new road is being paved on a bald mountaintop from Migdalim and Road 505 to meet the Alon Route. Despite the fact that it is Saturday (The Jewish Sabbath) there are two bulldozers working.
A light at the end of the tunnel: Free health insurance for the entire population of shepherds north of Hamra
The Palestinian Authority is distributing health insurance certificates to 170 families of shepherds in the northern Jordan Valley. This is another positive activity of the regional council that was established one year ago. Medical services are provided by the “Turkish Hospital” which is a mobile clinic in Tuba that comes to visits each of the shepherds’ communities once each week. One of the first people who received free hospitalization were Rimah and Ashraf from Khalat Makhul who just had a new baby.
This Saturday there was a lot of action and there were many soldiers at the checkpoints, probably because of the recent terrorist attack.
11:15 – At Zatra Checkpoint we saw soldiers and police and border patrol vehicles going in both directions (towards Nablus and the Jordan Valley).
11:30 – At Maaleh Ephraim Checkpoint 11:30 two women soldiers were checkpoint Palestinian vehicles going towards the Jordan Valley. There were no waiting lines at either checkpoint.
We returned at 15:00 through Bezek Checkpoint where three vehicles were being meticulously checked.
Jordan Valley
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Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley is the eastern strip of the West Bank. Its area consists of almost a third of the West Bank area. About 10,000 settlers live there, about 65,000 Palestinian residents in the villages and towns. In addition, about 15,000 are scattered in small shepherd communities. These communities are living in severe distress because of two types of harassment: the military declaring some of their living areas, as fire zones, evicting them for long hours from their residence to the scorching heat of the summer and the bitter cold of the winter. The other type is abuse by rioters who cling to the grazing areas of the shepherd communities, and the declared fire areas (without being deported). The many groundwaters in the Jordan Valley belong to Mekorot and are not available to Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley. The Palestinians bring water to their needs in high-cost followers.
Sarah PostecDec-27-2026Hammam al-Malih: Border Guard and settlers in the compound
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Ma'ale Efrayim
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Ma'ale Efrayim On the road connecting Route 90 (the Jordan Valley road) to the Allon Road.
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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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