Za’atra, Huwwara and Beit Furiq
Za’atra, Huwwara and Beit Furiq 29 June 2006 Watchers: Tal S., Driver, Nava M., Eilat (reporting)8:15 a.m.We drove onto the road to Burokin from the junction at the Barkan industrial area. About 500 metres from the junction we came across stones obstructing the road and about 100 metres away another obstruction where taxis and vehicles from the villages of Burokin, Karwa, Adik and others were waiting. The passengers walked the distance between the two obstructions and took another taxi to their destination.Za’atra8:30 a.m. There are no queues. The cars are checked at a rate of a minute each in both directions. A dog handler and her dog check a vehicle loaded down with armchairs. All the rest undergo a superficial inspection of documents and a glance into the vehicle. The commander refuses to talk to us. When we ask about the day’s orders he answered: “No one who endangers the security of the State of Israel crosses”. There are two checkpoints and no detainees.The Borin roadblock is not staffed.Huwwara8:58 a.m. Pedestrians: some 200 or more await inspection. There are two checkpoints open. Women soldiers check with the aid of a magnometer but do not demand that shirts are raised. There isn’t a separate queue for women and the elderly and the soldiers do not permit us to observe from the north of the imaginary line and do not allow us to take photographs. We try, without a great deal of success, not to get into any conflicts.There are no detainees.Today’s orders mean that everyone can cross, irrespective of their place of residence, except for males aged between 18 and 25 residents of Nablus.The atmosphere resonates low spirits and despair.We were told that it takes between 30 –90 minutes to cross and most people noted that it was quicker than usual.9:38 a.m.A ‘humanitarian’ queue is opened which is also subject to a thorough inspection for everyone, but the queues are somewhat reduced and the waiting time is down to an hour.There is an x-ray machine plus a dog and dog handler at the vehicle entrance from Nablus, all luggage: cases, bags, etc., are dragged to the x-ray machine and back again by those crossing.Awarta10:00 a.m.Versions of the opening time: 7:00 a.m. according to a young boy working here; 6:30 a.m. according to one of the drivers; 5:55 a.m. according to the soldiers. According to the driver, although the gate was opened early, the inspections only commenced two hours later and they are sluggish. In addition to the twenty lorries on the site another 17 build up in a queue at the entrance.Among them:2 lorries with bananas from the Haifa area, 2 lorries with water melons from the area of Ashdod, fruit from the Tel Aviv wholesale market and 2 small lorries unloading back to back, one from Tel Aviv with porters unloading huge rolls of material and loading them onto the second lorry from which clothes, manufactured in Nablus workshops from the Tel Aviv material, had been unloaded.Beit Furiq10:30 a.m. There is heavy pedestrian traffic between the taxi car park and the roadblock in both directions. There is one checkpoint in each direction. There are age limitations for males between the ages of 18 – 25. The soldiers and the commander look bored and are inclined to talk and explain their viewpoints; they are all convinced of the justice of their assignment.Huwwara11:00 a.m. There are still many tens of people in the queue, with no ‘humanitarian’ queue. We request that a humanitarian queue be opened to ease the pressure but are given a negative answer, even after we contact the Centre. The definition of ‘pressure’ is comparative and subjective. The opening, or not, of a humanitarian queue is completely dependent on the decision of the commander as to whether their is, or isn’t, ‘pressure’.We leave.11:30 a.m.The roadblock at Borin is now staffed. There are no queues or detainees.At Za’atra there is no queue in any direction.
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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