Hebron, South Hebron Hills, Mon 17.1.11, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
Sansana-Meytar crossing
At 6:30 AM all the laborers are already on the Israeli side. On our way back we see one bus with relatives of prisoners in the parking lot.
Route 317 – Route 356
The occupation is drowsing – almost no vehicles on the road. The Asa’el outpost has grown noticeably and the almond trees aren’t blossoming. Tu B’shvat is at the end of the week, and JNF staff are busy demolishing Al Araqib…At the grocery near the turnoff to Yata they say everything’s ok. The checkpoint at Bani Na’im, near the turn to B’nai Hever, is open, and the soldiers have come down from the pillbox – but there are no cars or people to check.
Hebron
At Curve 160 the soldiers open the gate for the two disabled girls in wheelchairs on their way to school.
At the Pharmacy checkpoint a youth is sent to get his ID. The children cross without problems.
There’s a new janitor at the boys schools – we introduce ourselves.
A bearded settler at the Cave of the Patriarchs asks us to open the window and tells us: Soon we’ll find out how the funds from Ahmadinajad get here.
A Giv’ati patrol passes up at Tel Rumeida.
The soldier at the Giv’at HaAvot checkpoint opens the gate for a Palestinian ambulance.
And the whole way, a young woman walks home to Giv’at HaHarsina holding her baby – it’s impossible to push a stroller on these uneven paths, and Palestinian cars aren’t allowed to drive anywhere in H2.
Soldiers are cleaning outside Beit HaMeriva. The gray gate is still closed, but the checkpoint isn’t manned. Everything’s as usual in the Avraham Avinu neighborhood – the walls around the Shaharbati home are now covered with a climbing plant. Osama’s home on the worshippers’ route is still being renovated. A huge Hanukkah menorah has been set up next to the pillbox in the middle of the Abu Snan neighborhood, visible from everywhere – the annoying occupation!!!
It’s very sad to see this whole area again each time, but there are no detainees at any of the checkpoints.
Route 60
Soldiers and jeeps at the entrance to Bani Na’im. Everything else is open and traffic flows.
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
Raya YeorDec-18-2025Hebron - Yusri Jaber and part of his family
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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
Michal TsadikJan-29-2026Umm al-Khair - a security risk for Carmel settlers
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