The kindergarten in Hashem alDarij
We went to the kindergarten of Huda in Hashem alDarij to hand over the equipment which she needed and bought it with the money from the “Garden Fund” run by Mira.
On the way we were accompanied by children who had been at the kindergarten when small, who were released early from school due to the death of Saeb Erekat. Muhammad knows each and every one of them. In the kindergarten, the 14 older children sat quietly, working on English textbooks.
The roads are pretty empty and so is the city. Many groups of soldiers patrol the triangle of Tel Rumeida – the Cave of the Patriarchs – the pharmacy checkpoint. These are the Nahal soldiers who in a week’s time will make way for the paratroopers.
We tried to find out more about an incident that took place the day before and we read about it in the newspaper: Settlers took over an olive grove in the area, harvesting the trees in broad daylight. Neither the polite soldiers who guarded Tel Rumeida nor a local Palestinian who sat there knew the story.
On the other hand we saw some residents harvesting the olives in their well-fenced yards.
The souvenir shops in front of the Cave of the Patriarchs are all closed except for one – out of lack of public interest.
On the lawn below the cave, they set up a guest tent for the affair of “The life of Sarah”, with a warning against crowding because of the Corona.
In front of the closed wholesale market, we met Yehuda Shaul with a group of Swiss diplomats whom he was guiding
Back on Route 60 a long column of IDF armoured vehicles in front of us.
At the Dura El Fawwar junction, the vegetable stalls have returned. The smell is wonderful and the produce looks so healthy!
The gate towards Dura is closed and one of the locals said that there had been stone throwing by children, and the incident is being treated locally. Apparently the children also burned tires, the smell of smoke from the village.
Autumn gives the occupation a more delicate color.
Dura Al-Fawwar Junction
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Junction on Route 60: west - the town of El Dura, east - the Al Fawwar refugee camp. There is a manned pillbox at the junction. From time to time the army sets up flying checkpoints at the entrance to El Fawwar and Al Dura. Al-Fawwar is a large refugee camp (7,000 inhabitants in 2007) established in 1949 to accommodate Palestinian refugees from Be'er Sheva and Beit Jubrin and environs. There are many incidents of stone-throwing. In the vicinity of the pillbox there are excellent agricultural areas, Farmers set up stalls adjacent to the plots close to the road. In recent months the civil administration has set up dirt embankments thereby blocking access to the stalls, and making it impossible for the farmers to sell their vegetables. Updated April 2021, Michal T.
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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
MuhammadFeb-24-2026South Hebron Hill, Beit Hagai: Paving an internal security road
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