Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Tue 8.9.09, Morning
Sansana Pathway
The lane is empty. The last workers expect their transfer on the Israeli side.
On the way back – two buses of families' visits (to Israeli prisons).
Road 60
Water problem in South Mount Hebron: because we arrived early today, we saw a scene worth a thousand words: near Dahaiya, in two places separated by only a few km.s, on the side of the road, several water tanks were gathered, with hoses sent into the earth, where there is a water reservoir or some connection to a central supplier. We talked to one of the drivers who, for fear of the army, asked us to leave the precise location of those tankers unspecified. He tells us that they are forced to get to those places once weekly in order to fill those tanks and distribute them to the local villages, adding that both the army and the settlers harass the drivers.The distance between the pastoral scene and the life's harshness was, once again, blatant.
The road is quiet and empty all along. We wonder and worry: how is it that none of the usual pedestrian traffic, consisting of pupils, teachers, and others, are to be seen?
Hebron
The mystery is resolved in Hebron, which is empty, too. The schools' janitors reveal the secret: in the Palestinian authority, they moved to winter-time on Sept. 4th, so it is now an hour earlier than we thought. We were relieved because our thoughts were with yesterday's events – that mass state memorial to the 1929 events.
So we arrived too early and we could not but await some signs of life. No special problems witnessed anywhere, and the children walk through, without being detained.
Road 317
The apartheid road, limited to the "lords of the land", is entirely empty.
We enter the settlement Carmel to see for ourselves the newly built neighbourhood. A soldier stands there, at the entry-way and opens the gate for us. We counted ten new houses, spacious and well equipped for multiple-children families. All signs of life – cars, laundry, children's toys – are scattered all round. The place itself seems to be still in the working, so to speak: more flattened grounds, water hoses scattered around.
We will keep our eyes open.
Hebron
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According to Wye Plantation Accords (1997), Hebron is divided in two: H1 is under Palestinian Authority control, H2 is under Israeli control. In Hebron there are 170,000 Palestinian citizens, 60,000 of them in H2. Between the two areas are permanent checkpoints, manned at all hours, preventing Palestinian movement between them and controlling passage of permit holders such as teachers and schoolchildren. Some 800 Jews live in Avraham Avinu Quarter and Tel Rumeida, on Givat HaAvot and in the wholesale market.
Checkpoints observed in H2:
- Bet Hameriva CP- manned with a pillbox
- Kapisha quarter CP (the northern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
- The 160 turn CP (the southern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
- Avraham Avinu quarter - watch station
- The pharmacy CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
- Tarpat (1929) CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
- Tel Rumeida CP - guarding station
- Beit Hadassah CP - guarding station
Three checkpoints around the Tomb of the Patriarchs
Muhammad D.May-13-2026Hebron - Request for compensation for land expropriation
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Meitar checkpoint / Sansana
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Meitar Checkpoint / Sansana The checkpoint is located on the Green Line and serves as a border crossing between Israel and the West Bank. It is managed by the Border Crossing Authority of the Defense Ministry. It is comprised of sections for the transfer of goods as well as a vehicle checkpoint (intended for holders of blue identity cards, foreign nationals or diplomats and international organizations). Passing of Palestinians is prohibited, except for those with entry permits to Israel. Palestinians are permitted to cross on foot only. The crossing has a DCO / DCL / DCL / DCL (District Coordination Office), a customs unit, supervision, and a police unit. In the last year, a breach has been opened in the fence, not far from the crossing. This breach is known to all, including the army. There does not appear to be any interest in blocking it, probably as it permits needed Palestinian workers without the bureaucratic permits to get to work in Israel. Food stalls and a parking area economy have been created, but incidents of violent abuse by border police have also been recorded. Updated April 2022
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South Hebron Hills
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South Hebron Hills
South Hebron Hills is a large area in the West Bank's southern part.
Yatta is a major city in this area: right in the border zone between the fertile region of Hebron and its surroundings and the desert of the Hebron Hills. Yatta has about 64,000 inhabitants.
The surrounding villages are called Masafer Yatta (Yatta's daughter villages). Their inhabitants subsist on livestock and agriculture. Agriculture is possible only in small plots, especially near streams. Most of the area consists of rocky terraces.Since the beginning of the 1980s, many settlements have been established on the agricultural land cultivated by the Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills region: Carmel, Maon, Susia, Masadot Yehuda, Othniel, and more. Since the settlements were established and Palestinians cultivation areas have been reduced; the residents of the South Hebron Hills have been suffering from harassment by the settlers. Attempts to evict and demolish houses have continued, along with withholding water and electricity. The military and police usually refrain from intervening in violent incidents between settlers and Palestinians do not enforce the law when it comes to the investigation of extensive violent Jewish settlers. The harassment in the South Hebron Hills includes attacking and attempting to burn residential tents, harassing dogs, harming herds, and preventing access to pastures.
There are several checkpoints in the South Hebron Hills, on Routes 317 and 60. In most of them, no military presence is apparent, but rather an array of pillboxes monitor the villages. Roadblocks are frequently set up according to the settlers and the army's needs. These are located at the Zif Junction, the Dura-al Fawwar crossing, and the Sheep Junction at the southern entrance to Hebron.
Updated April 2022
Muhammad D.Jun-2-2026The Israeli car blocking one of the entrances to Simiya
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