Tarkumiya - a full parking lot
Wednesday, the day before the beginning of the month of Ramadan. We passed through the crowded Tarkumiya crossing.
We met Mahmud from Idna. He complains about the tight schedule in the morning at the checkpoint. There are a lot of passers-by on the way to their work in Kiryat Gat, Ashdod Ashkelon, etc., and the crossing takes about an hour. We saw that the parking lot in Tarkumiya is full.
Any Palestinian who wants to get permit to enter Israel arranges it through an app, on the phone or on a computer. Mahmud entered all his details into the application and received an invitation to arrive at the checkpoint at a certain time and quickly cross over to the Israeli side.
There is an improvement, but still the transition in the morning is complex.
Shuyukh- Hebron intersection: a military jeep on the sides of the road – not stopping vehicles, only as an observation post.
Hebron:
We went to Hill 22 which is located on the north side of Kiryat Arba, and the entrance to it is from the direction of Beit Anon. On this hill, the HaMevaser neighbourhood is planned, which will be another neighbourhood of Kiryat Arba on the north side, and there is a gate that will be connected to the Harsina neighbourhood. It seems that the land was acquired in some way. In the meantime, there are only a few caravan[N1] s and a water tower here. There are no settlers living here. We met Musa, a resident of the surrounding Hebron neighbourhoods. Musa reports that there is no change, only many settlers come to visit the hill, observe make their presence felt.
Bassem our acquaintance, who lives on Zion axis in front of Beit Meriva, reports that the checkpoint at the entrance to the Kafisha neighbourhood has been closed. Therefore, even though he has a permit to travel on the Zion axis, he cannot drive his car to his home. He had to park the car next to the mosque next to Beit Meriva (Quarrel House), on the other side of the road, up the hill. Another part of the harassment of the Palestinian residents lives in the heart of Jewish Hebron.
Reminder: The Quarrel House, which the settlers call the Peace House, was purchased by the Jewish residents of Hebron, and was at the centre of a legal battle that was decided in favour of the Jewish buyers. Immediately after the purchase and the entry of the Jewish buyers, and without any connection with the approval of the settlement, a new barrier was erected next to the house of conflict, and the movement of Palestinian vehicles around it was prohibited – this is the octopus’s method of the Jewish takeover of Hebron.
Mohammad, Abed’s son, from the shop opposite the Cave of the Patriarchs, maintains the business, after his father’s death. It is reported that there are very few visitors.
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
Leah ShakdielApr-29-2026South Hebron Hills. The turn to 'Afeka', one of the new outposts facing Abda
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Tarqumiya CP
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The Tarqumiya Checkpoint is one of the largest and busiest checkpoints where people and goods cross into Israel. It is located on the Separation Barrier close to the Green Line, on Road 35 (connecting Beer Sheva and Hebron). It is run by the Israel Defense Ministry’s Crossings Administration with civilian secuirty companies running the day to day operations. The checkpoint is indeed open to vehicles in both directions 24/7, but Palestinians are prevented from crossing in vehicles, except in special cases. MachsomWatch activists visit the checkpoint as it opens at 3:45 am, in order to observe the daily passage of nearly 10,000 Palestinian workers. The workers arrive from throughout the Southern West Bank. Our activists report on the tremendous overcrowding at this checkpoint; they have observed young men climbing and scrambling on the fences and roofs of the ‘access cages’. This is how the work day begins for those who ‘build the land of Israel’. updated November 2019
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