'Anabta, Beit Furik, Deir Sharaf, Huwwara, Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim), Za'tara (Tapuah), Sun 31.1.10, Afternoon

Place:

'Anabta

Beit Furik

Za'tara (Tapuah)

Huwwara

Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)

Deir Sharaf

Tags:

Slow passage

Detainees

Youngsters and students

Dogs, dog trainer

Observers:

Galit G. and Tal H. (reporting)

Jan-31-2010

Afternoon

Translation: Tal H.

14:45 Army Hummer, soldiers rummaging inside a Palestinian vehicle beside the dirt mound that permanently blocks the access to Zeita-Jama’in village.

14:50 Za'tara (Tapuach) Junction Checkpoint

Israeli civilian police is seen enforcing Israeli traffic regulations upon Palestinian drivers today, at many more locations than usual. Palestinian vehicle is inspected by Border Patrolmen inside the compound.
30 cars waiting in line southbound from the Nablus area.

15:10 Inside Huwwara village/town a Border Patrolman wrapped in his prayer shawl seen praying next to his army jeep comfortably nestled amidst the olive trees in some Palestinian yard. Many more army vehicles than usual lately are seen both parked and moving throughout the area.

15:20 Beit Furik - No soldiers nor vehicles seen.

15:30 Huwwara Checkpoint

Border Patrolmen manning the entry checking post for Nablus-bound vehicles.

At the exit checking post, much more thorough inspections than seen lately during our shifts.

15:40 The sniffer-dog-cum-trainer arrive and ‘get to work’. Once again the sights appear of an entire family ordered to disembark from a service taxi (van), all its belongings scattered on the ground, the dog hopping in to rummage, sniff and salivate, the inspection lasts over ten minutes.

In the meantime other IDs are checked and a waiting line forms.

Apparently at random suddenly everyone is let through. On the other hand, at the entry post, a Palestinian pedestrian is detained, taken by the Border Patrolmen to be body-searched spread-eagled against the concrete blocks on the far side of the now empty taxi park, straight out of a Hollywood police series. Then he is seated to wait on the curb.

16:05 Another van inspected for Israel’s security: university students on their way back from town to their villages – the Border Patrol leafs through their books and shakes out their notebooks.
They are also ordered to take off their shoes, which – by the way – are not inspected.

16:15 – Two spick-and-span yeshiva boys (uniform: white shirts, black trousers, elegant black skullcaps and long tzitziot) rambling freely amidst the various points in the compound and shooting photographs with a very professional/photojournalist looking camera info-icon ).

While Galit goes over to inquire about the detained pedestrian, a roar sounds from the concrete watchtower: “Watchhhhhh!!!”
The Border Patrolman tells Galit this is a ‘confidential’ matter and sends her away.

Our friend from one of the villages in the area tells us over the phone that today, from 9:30 for about an hour all traffic through checkpoints in the area was suspended because apparently the Israeli police were looking for stolen cars inside Nablus.

16:40 Deir Sharaf Checkpoint - Unmanned, traffic flows freely.

16:45 Anabta Checkpoint - No soldiers in sight.

17:00 Efrayim-Irtah Checkpoint

No crowding outside the turnstiles, the last workers on their way home arrive and are swiftly processed through the compound.

We get on our way back into Israel at 17:20.

Location Description

Irtah (Sha'ar Efrayim)

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The checkpoint is for Palestinians only. It is the main barrier to the passage of workers from the northern West Bank to Israel.
Workers with a permit to work in Israel and also for trade (with appropriate permissions), medicine, and visiting prisoners.
One can cross the checkpoint only on foot. The checkpoint is located north of Road 557 and south of Tulkarm. Operated by a civil security company, opening hours: between 4:00 and 19:00 on weekdays.
As members of Machsom Watch, we began our shifts to this location in 2007.
We arrived before it opened at 4 in the morning and report since, on the harsh conditions and the long and crowded queues of workers. The workers who pass by continue their journey by transportation to work throughout Israel.

In the first period of its activity, about 3,000 and then 5,000 people passed through this checkpoint every day. Due to the small number of checking points and arbitrary delays for long periods of time in the "rooms", workers feared losing their transportation.
Hence workers leave their homes at 2:30 at night to be among the first. Today, 15,000 pass and the transition is faster. Workers are still leaving their homes very early to get past the checkpoint at 7 p.m.

In an adjacent compound, there is a terminal for the transfer of goods on a commercial scale, using the back-to-back method.

Anabta checkpoint

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The checkpoint is located south of the village of Anabta, at the intersection of Road 60 (leading to Nablus at the entrance to Area A), with Road (57, 557, 5576) facing west towards the Einav settlement and the checkpoint at the exit from the West Bank - Figs checkpoint.
Until 2010 we used to watch the intersection and report the long columns created due to a slow inspection of the vehicles in both directions.

Oct-29-2011

Anabta checkpoint 24.10.11

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Deir Sharaf checkpoint

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Deir Sharaf checkpoint is located west of Nablus and south of the settlement of Shavei Shomron, at the entrance to the village of Deir Sharaf on the road leading to Nablus. The checkpoint was activated in early March 2009 after the Beit Iba checkpoint was closed. Palestinians are allowed through the checkpoint , but not for Israelis. Unlike the checkpoints leading to Qalqilya and Tulkarm, crossing of Israeli Palestinians is only allowed on Saturdays.

Feb-29-2024

Nina Seba

Deir Sharaf - the entrance to the village

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Checkpoint Beit Furik

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One of the three internal checkpoints that closed on the city of Nablus - Beit Furik to the east, Hawara to the south, Beit Iba to the west.
The checkpoint is located at the junction of Roads 557 (an apartheid road that was forbidden for Palestinians), leading to the Itamar and Alon Morea settlements and Road 5487. The checkpoint was established in 2001 for pedestrians and vehicles; The opening hours were short and the transition was slow and very problematic.

Allegedly, the checkpoint is intended to monitor the movement to and from Nablus of the residents of Beit Furik and Beit Dajan, being the only opening outside their villages.
Since May 2009 the checkpoint is open 24 hours a day, the military presence is limited, vehicles can pass through it without inspections, except for random inspections. (Updated April 2010)

Za'tara (Tapuah) Checkpoint

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Za'atara 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 Tapuach 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'atara 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.

Sep-28-2023

Shoshi Anbar

Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs

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Huwwara - the checkpoint and the township

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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 info-icon 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 today is free, but there is still a military presence in the guard tower and vehicle inspections are done from time to time.

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 info-icon 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)

Feb-29-2024

Nina Seba

Huwara checkpoint - the gate is closed

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