A pogrom carried out by settlers from Ma'on and Havat Ma'on in A-Tuwani.
Checkpoints review:
Samu’ – Closed. A vehicle was stuck trying to enter Samu’ at the bypass entrance via a dirt road, as we have reported many times before. The car key was taken by the army from the driver, and it would be hours before they would return it to him and he could continue on his way.
Dahariya – closed
Abda – closed
Dura – closed
Zif – open
Khalet al-Mai – open.
This time too, we drove along Route 60 to meet N. from a village near Dura, to give him a sum of money that my friend N. sends him, enabling N.’s family to survive.
We stopped at Nabil’s grocery store in Zif to buy groceries.
We chose Tuwani that morning, after we saw footage on the internet of what happened in the village after midnight.
We stopped at Jum’ah Rabai’s on the edge of Tuwani, to hear what happened last night.
Near the house and inside it, the neighbors and their children who had had a difficult night.
Jum’ah says that at noon, 3 settlers from Maon came to the Hurini family’s house (near the mosque) and sat next to it for half an hour. Then they walked around the mosque and the houses around it and then returned towards Maon Farm. It was clear that they were planning something.
Jum’ah, who was sleeping on the roof of his house during the summer, heard his neighbor’s screams. He woke up and saw about 40 settlers who had arrived from Maon Farm on foot. Some of them were wearing IDF uniforms. They entered the nearby cheese factory, broke windows with clubs and axes, and within minutes broke the windows in the mosque. They poured gasoline and set fire to the mosque door and carpet.
They went to the neighbor’s house, broke the windows, and also poured gasoline on a 13-year-old boy. The boy’s mother dragged the boy on the carpet that was soaked in gasoline. They threw fire that hit the entrance to the mosque.
They also burned a car.
Meanwhile, many of the residents, who were watching the World Cup, woke up.
They drove most of the settlers away, 5 remained near the mosque area. The five tried to set fire to another house, but Jum’ah’s brother, Kamal, drove them away.
The army, which was at a point near the Ma’on farm, did not respond at all.
The army, GSS, and police arrived after half an hour, collected evidence, and asked the residents to go home.
There are price tag inscriptions that we photographed, and we can see a connection to the fire that occurred at Gilad Farm the day before. Although according to the police the fire was caused by a cigarette butt, according to the settlers the culprit was the Palestinians and the arson was intentional.
According to the graffiti, this was to take revenge on Tuwani. There is also mention of house arrest that is apparently related to some of the Jewish terrorist perpetrators who are arrested.
Regularly, they drive around in Twani with vehicles and curse at the children, shouting that they should go away, that this is their land.
When we left and went towards our vehicle, an IDF jeep with masked soldiers in it passed, and one of them shouted “Israel”.
Apparently, he thought we were visiting from abroad.
We left food supplies and donations as usual.
On the way back, on Route 317, they are widening the intersections at Avigail and Asa’el.
In the southern Hebron Hills, there are kilometers of concrete blocks with the graffiti “Messiah” on them, amidst a sea of Israeli flags.
The work of the electric company that we saw last week is also continuing. All to benefit the settlements.
The abuse and cruelty are increasing, with no ability to make a living and difficulty getting around.
#Thisistheoccupation
Location Description
A-Tuwani
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A-Tuwani
The locals came to a-Tuwani during the 20th century from the village of Yatta. They settled in abandoned ruins, utilizing the arable land, pastures for grazing sheep and the abundance of natural caves for habitation. The residents who settled in the caves came from families who could not purchase land for houses in the mother villages, as well as shepherds who did not have enough land to graze. They were joined by clan members who quarreled with other families in the mother locality.
Some of the residents today live in concrete buildings built above the caves. In the area of the village are several water cisterns and an ancient water well called 'Ein a-Tuwani. Local residents are forced to buy water in containers and transport them through many road blocks to the village. With the help of international organizations, an electrical system was installed in the village. In the late 90s of the 20tTh century, an elementary school was established in the serving several small villages in the area.
In 2004, MachsomWatch began visiting and reporting from the Khirbet Tuwani cave village, which suffers badly from the settlers of nearby outposts, and especially from the extremist Ma'on outpost. . The settlers contaminate cisterns, poison the flocks and uproot trees.Particularly notable is the harassment of children from the surrounding villages on their way to school in a-Tuwani, so much so that military escort of children is required to separate them from the attackers (this was arranged following an initiative of the organization's members). In the past year, the escort has been without the vital presence of overseas volunteers.
Near a-Tuwani there are several families who have returned to the caves due to the incessant demolitions of the civil administration (as there is a total construction ban in all of area C). Destroyed are not only residential and agricultural buildings, but also water pipes, machinery. Even water cisterns are clogged up. a-Tuwani residents have created an association for non-violent demolition protests, but in the past year the army’s harsh harassment and settler violence have intensified and escalated. The incident of the small generator confiscation, which left a young man paralyzed, is one of many examples - any legitimate protection of property rights leads to violence and even shootings by the army and the civil administration.
Updated April 2022
Smadar BeckerAug-17-2026The layout of the outposts from Ma'on Farm eastward
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Mesafer Yatta
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This is happening in Fire Area 918 in the South Hebron Hills
On the eve of Remembrance Day (the day before Israel Independence Day), 4th May, 2022, the Israeli High Court decided on the transfer and expulsion of residents from 8 Palestinian communities in the area of Masafar Yata in the South Hebron Hills. Residents of the villages have been living under the threat of demolition, evacuation and expropriation since the IDF issued evacuation orders in 1999 based on the 1980s proclamation of their area of residence as a firing zone for IDF drills. None of the nearby settlements were included in this zone. The Masafer Yata Palestinian villages retain a special lifestyle and ancient agricultural culture. They also posess a clear historical documentation that testifies to a Palestinian settlement in this area, generations before the establishment of Israel, long ago in the caves and at later times outside them.
Evacuating residents from the area means destroying these historic villages and leaving entire families (about 2,000 people, children, adults, and the elderly) homeless. This is contrary to international law.
In June 2022, a firing drill started, and life became harder.
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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
Smadar BeckerAug-17-2026The layout of the outposts from Ma'on Farm eastward
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