Simiya - Teachers receive less than half their salary because the PA has not enough money available.
Meitar checkpoint, almost deserted…. since the beginning of the war! Workers are not entering to work in Israel, there is no work, no livelihood and their situation is stressed and in a bad state….
We drove towards Tene Omarim, to the Ramadin checkpoint (+ Dahariya), the entrance is open to traffic.
We returned to Route 60, on the way to Simiya, to visit Farhan. The entrance to the village, on the dirt road, was closed by the army, with piles of sand. People from the area arrived early in the morning and opened the blockade, so that vehicles could enter and get home.
The army threatened the residents of the village that if they opened the blockade, they would shoot at them!!!, but the army leaves, they open and if the army approaches, they run away….this ritual takes places about twice a week.
A few minutes before we arrived, a military vehicle arrived, looking for a vehicle to pass through the entrance so as to catch the driver, take away his keys and leave the car stuck at the checkpoint.
The village also serves as a crossing to Dahariya, because the Ramadin checkpoint is closed every afternoon and on Saturdays.
The school is open and there are classes, but the teachers only receive about 40% of their salary, because there is not enough money available.
Farhan’s son and his wife work at the school in the other half of Simiya (across the main road)
He has a brother who lives in Jordan. His financial situation has not been so good lately, but he and his adult sons do not want to live here…
The economic situation here is getting worse and there is no way out…. there is no future and no hope.
הצבא איים על הגרים בכפר שאם יפתחו את החסימה, יירו עליהם!!!, אבל הצבא עוזב, הם פותחים ואם הצבא מתקרב, הם בורחים….כל “הטקס” הזה, קורה כפעמייים בשבוע.
כמה דקות לפני שהגענו, הגיע רכב צבאי, שחיפש רכב שיעבור בכניסה, לתפוס אותו ולקחת את המפתחות ולתקוע אותו בכניסה כמחסום !
הכפר משמש גם כמעבר לדהריה, כי מחסום רמאדין סגור כל יום אחה”צ ובשבת.
בית הספר פועל ויש לימודים, אבל המורים מקבלים רק כ-40% מהשכר, כי אין לרשות מספיק כסף. הבן של פרחאן ואישתו עובדים בביה”ס של החצי השני של סימיא (מעבר לכביש הראשי)
יש לו אח שחי בירדן, מצבו לא כל כך טוב כלכלית לאחרונה, אבל הוא ובניו הבוגרים לא רוצים לחיות פה…
המצב הכלכלי פה הולך ומחמיר ואין שום מוצא….אין עתיד ואין תקווה…..
Location Description
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
Michal TsadikJul-25-2025The interior of the burnt house
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