Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills
Meitar checkpoint
7:00 All laborers have already crossed to the Israeli side and are waiting for their rides.
The usual morning routine on Highway 60; light traffic, pupils on their way to school and the familiar observation balloon in the sky above Beit Haggai.
Soldiers at the Dura al Fawwar junction have come down from the pillbox and are stopping drivers leaving Dura.
They’re not looking for anything in particular; it’s just a tiresome show of force [cf. video].
Hebron
The city is quiet.
Cars wait at the roadblock next to Beit Hameriva for people coming from H2 to H1, operating in the “back-to-back” method – for people.
Because this area has been transformed into an “army base,” only approved vehicles may drive into the city of Hebron from here: Those fortunate enough to live near the area Jews have decided belongs to them, walk to the checkpoint where a car awaits them on the other side. The routine seems normal enough to Hebron’s Jewish residents. [A photo Natanya took will be sent separately.]
All checkpoints and roadblocks operate normally, detaining people for only a few minutes and then releasing them.
Many Nahal soldiers wander around Gross Square.
Tel Rumeida
The excavation area has grown to include the area on the other side of the path to Abu Heikhal’s house.
The representative of the Antiquities Authority in charge of the excavation welcomes us merrily. He tells us how pleased he is to be digging; he’d like to dig throughout the country.
The present and future don’t interest him, he says, only the past. He tells us they’ve found abundant potsherds and coins from every period – from the Chalcolithic through the Hashmonaim, and later.
“What will you do with this area when you’re finished?,” I ask. “I hope they’ll enlarge the museum here in Tel Rumeida. Take a look at the wonderful finds displayed there.” “Why here, exactly?,” I ask. “I dig everywhere; I’m happy to uncover the past everywhere, not only here. But here we find cultures 6500 years old.”
The happy excavator’s enthusiasm for the past continues. They’ve just brought him a metal detector which makes encouraging noises. They’ve found a nail.
“You understand – I don’t care about the present.”
A settler helping him, who two weeks ago referred to us as “aunties” and mocked our presence here, works in silence, doesn’t dare join the conversation today.
Near Dahariyya we met people Sylvia and Chaya are trying to help – with no success yet. They give us additional documents. Perhaps in the future they’ll join the 70% who regain their work permits after endless, unnecessary complications.
The enlightened occupation continues.
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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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
MuhammadFeb-24-2026South Hebron Hill, Beit Hagai: Paving an internal security road
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