South Hebron Hills, a-Tuwani - expansion of the Havat Maon outpost
We went as arranged to meet Basel Adra at Tuwani. We wanted to see the new trailer laid by the settlers of Maon Farm. And, as you can see in the pictures at the end of the grove at the foot of the farm, a Caravan and next to it is a water truck. Next to the trailer is a kind of tent with one person wearing a prayer shawl, making all sorts of weird movements with his hands.
Basal says that they laid the trailer on a dirt road used by the shepherdsl who go to the olive groves. It seemed to him that the aim was to block the road and create friction.
This morning there was only this eccentric Jew. The children who live next door say that in the evening there are 4 or 5 other people walking around.
We’ll have to follow to see what this “new settlement” trend is all about.
In a phone call to Idris from Hebron and we were pleased to hear that the victims of the Hebron settlers on Saturday evening went to work despite their injuries.
We also went to Mahmoud Abu Kabita who lives adjacent to the settlement of Beit Yatir. We have written about him and his difficult conditions many times. Apparently they suffered the last two months because the Beit Yatir checkpoint was closed because of the Corona. And one could not travel to Yatta. He said he wanted to bring groceries to his sheep and his family back-to-back to the checkpoint and that he would come from the other side and take the goods.
This was refused. Life is stronger than anything and he has found ways of somehow surviving.
To me, the words of Zeev Degani (a truly great educator) echo in my mind about the Ministry of Education’s decisions and the person who heads it , “I do not mean to obey unjust regulations, teachers are not privileged slaves” ….
Everyone who lives under occupation also has the right to not have his basic needs ignored if there is truly justice.
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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