South Hebron Hills
Just after Susiya in front of Qawasis
The entrance to the village of Sha’ab al Butum was blocked the day before. We saw the barricade as one can see in the photograph. It is unclear why life should be made so difficult. In that area we saw the olive groves damaged by the settlers
Last week 30 trees were destroyed and 160 two weeks ago. All belonging to one family.
We drove to the family of Abu Kbeita, near the Beit Yatir checkpoint.
For a long time, Mahmoud complained about one worker’s bullying at the checkpoint towards the family. We were delighted to hear that Gilad,, the checkpoint manager had handled the problem as he had promised me and the attitude was back to normal.
Mahmoud is still waiting for his daughter who now lives in Yatta due to her marriage, will receive the permit to return and visit her parents’ home where she was raised and educated. Gabriel Gerber of the DCO had promised to handle the matter many months ago. It is not clear why this is so complicated.
Mahmoud says: Lucky for me that my faith gives me the hope that justice will one day prevail and everyone will receive his reward from Allah.
We hope so too.
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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