This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Awarta (Arabic: عورتا) is a Palestinian town located 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) southeast of Nablus, in the northern West Bank.

[3] It is home to several holy sites revered by Samaritans, Jews and Muslims, the most well-known of which is the traditional tomb of Phinehas, grandson of Aaron.

[3] According to Ben-Zvi, the last Samaritan family, who are of priestly Cohen lineage from the tribe of Levi, left Awarta during the 17th century.

[3] Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi records in 1226, while Awarta was under Ayyubid rule, that it was a "village or small town, on the road from Nablus to Jerusalem.

According to the Samaritan Chronicle, in Kefr Ghuweirah (now called Awarta) is found the tomb of Yusha (Joshua) ibn Nun.

[10] Awarta was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Jabal Qubal, part of Nablus Sanjak.

In his detailed travelogue, he wrote that Awarta was situated between Balāṭa and Ḥuwwāra as one traveled the country from north to south.

[12] In 1838, Edward Robinson noted the village besides Rujeib and Odela,[13] part of the el-Beitawy district, east of Nablus.

[14] In 1870 Victor Guérin visited the village, and noted that in the upper part there was a mosque, called Djama Mansour, containing a gigantic whitewashed tomb.

The Palestinian National Authority agreed to ensure free access to these sites as specified in the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

However, from 2007, when a group of Israeli activists — Rabbis for Human Rights — agreed to protect the farmers during the harvest, attacks temporarily came to an end.

[27] Sami, Iyad N’am ‘Awwad, a local teacher, stated that the affected area has been isolated from the rest of the village by the erection of two Itamar security fences.

[33] As a reaction to the attack, masked Israeli settlers infiltrated the village and threw stones at homes, before being dispersed by the Israel Defense Forces.

[35] The village council chief condemned the murder, however he voiced doubts over the Israeli findings and claimed that the two suspects confessed under duress.