Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills, Susiya
Again, because of the Jewish holidays of Tishrei, we decided not to go to Hebron. It’s not a good time to hang around for people who care for human rights.
This time we went to visit Azzam in Susiya.
At the Meitar checkpoint, the parking lot was almost completely empty. Very few trucks. According to M., only about 20% of the workers were allowed to go to work these days.
We did not see an army prescence on Route 60 except for the two military vehicles which were driving in front of us.
With Azzam in Susya
Azzam tells us about life in Susya. About the fear in the winter that the tent will not fly away, about the lack of sleep in the winter nights because of the noise of the wind and the rain, and each member of the family holds one of the tent poles so that the tent does not collapse. The neighbors who had moved away because the neighbor who lived a few meters ago now lives at a great distance because everyone has now built the tent on his own land. About life in the shadow of fear of demolition after the demolishment of their homes in 1986 and the move to their present location.
Next month there is to be a further demolition of their tents. Azzam tells me that if me there is a further demolition they will not move this time. According to the documents of Ottoman times , these territories are Palestinians. They submitted requests for building permits to the authorities and were refused. Two years ago, they submitted an outline plan, and to this day they have not received an answer. According to him, the settlements Susya, Beit Yatir, Ma’on, Carmel, Avigayil, Mitzpeh Yair, are all sitting on private Palestinian lands. They appealed to the Supreme Court, which recognized their ownership of the land, but the building permits in the territories are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense.
I finally understood from him what the meaning is of “state lands” in the occupied areas which are not within the boundaries of the State of Israel. According to the Ottoman law, these are areas which can not be cultivated, such as the mountainous areas, can be taken by the state. The Israeli genius has found this loophole and thus, according to Ottoman law, it establishes settlements on “state lands,” although according to the measurements they belong to the Palestinians
There is no international law and there is no human law which deals with the fact that in 1986 they are thrown out into the open without water, without electricity and without a roof over their heads. This when the electricity and water for the settlement passes 30 meters from his tent and yet he is not allowed to drink.
And I ask: “Is this humane? Is this Zionism?” Is this Judaism? To live without a roof, without water?’
They are to be evacuated on the 10th November.
And in spite of all when we come to his tent everything is in order.
On the way back, M.’s sharp eye caught sight of the sםwing which is going on.
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
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Susiya
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Susiya The Palestinian area lies between the settlement of Susya and a military base. The residents began to settle in areas outside the villages in the 1830s and lived in caves, tents and sukkot. To this day they maintain a traditional lifestyle and their livelihood is based on agriculture and herding. Until the 1948 war, the farmers cultivated areas that extended to the Arad area. As a result of the war, a significant portion of their land left on the Israeli side was lost. After the 1967 war and the Israeli occupation, military camps were established in the area, fire zones and nature reserves were declared, and the land area was further reduced. The Jewish settlement in Susya began in 1979. Since then, there has been a stubborn struggle to remove the remains of Palestinian residents who refuse to leave their place of birth and move to nearby town Yatta. With the development of a tourist site in Khirbet Susya in the late 1980s (an ancient synagogue), dozens of families living in caves in its vicinity were deported. In the second half of the 1990s, a new form of settlement developed in the area - shepherds' farms of individual settlers. This phenomenon increased the tension between the settlers and the original, Palestinian residents, and led to repeated harassment of the residents of the farms towards the Palestinians. At the same time, demolition of buildings and crop destruction by security forces continued, as well as water and electricity prevention. In the Palestinian Susya, as in a large part of the villages of the southern Hebron Mountains, there is no running water, but the water pipe that supplies water to the Susya Jewish settlement passes through it. Palestinians have to buy expensive water that comes in tankers. Solar electricity is provided by a collector system, installed with donation funds. But the frequent demolitions in the villages do not spare water cisterns or the solar panels and power poles designed to transfer solar electricity between the villages. Updated April 2021, Anat T.
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