Sha'ab al-Butum - At five in the morning, the people of Amichai Shiloh stole many sacks of olives.
We wanted to visit the people of Umm al-Kheir after many days during which settlers, with the army’s assistance, have been surrounding them and making their lives miserable. At the very least, we wanted to bring them food supplies near the new checkpoint set up for them.
But on the way, Eid told us that neither we nor they would be allowed to approach even 100 meters beyond the checkpoint, and he did not know when it would be opened. So we left the groceries somewhere they could reach them once this closure ends, and drove to visit Y. Jabarin’s family in Shaab al-Butum.
Along Road 60, apart from the entrance to, all the Abda checkpoints at the entrances to Palestinian communities were closed: the entrances to Samu’ and Dahariya, at the Dura–al-Fawwar junction, at Qilqis, and at the Sheep Junction. Soldiers were guarding workers installing cameras. In fact, all the entrances to Hebron were closed. At the Zif junction, the entrance to Yatta was closed, and yellow gates had also been installed on every alternative road or path paved by residents. As a result, the few roads they are allowed to use are extremely congested with vehicles.
On the way, we spoke with A. A. from Umm Tuba and asked about a resident who had been severely attacked two days earlier and injured in one eye, to the point that his eyesight was feared to be at risk. A. told us that he had already been discharged from hospital, but his eye was bandaged, and only when the bandage is removed will its condition be known.
When we arrived in Sha’ab al-Butum with the groceries and vegetables donated by a generous person from Lakiya (Muhammad’s hometown), Y. told us that they had managed to harvest very few olives, only about four sacks, because the settler Amichai Shila and his men had come with sacks, harvested—stolen—olives from 200 trees, and left. “The moment we try to approach our trees, the settlers come wearing military uniforms (not actually army uniforms), summon the police as well, and drive us away,” Y. says. Those who try to resist are arrested.
This morning, Amichai Shilo’s men and someone named Yair stole many sacks of olives. Every morning the thieves arrive at five in the morning, and until 11 they harvest and steal many sacks of olives.
Across the valley between them and Mitzpe Avigayil there are approximately 700 dunams of olive groves, and the settlers come there every morning. Local residents are afraid to approach and film. Fortunately, there are volunteers from abroad who do film.
A week ago, the settlers brought their flock right up to Y.’s doorstep. He says the settlers want to leave some of their sheep at his home so that they can return later and claim that the sheep were stolen from them. He has a small flock of 30 animals, all marked. He does not let the flock out of the pen at all, neither to graze nor even around the house, for fear of the settlers, who keep coming back to intimidate them and try to steal.
He shows us a video from two days ago depicting settlers with a pickup truck and a Ranger. Every single morning, at about 6:30, they come and circle his house. A month ago, they came to him claiming he had stolen their sheep and called in the army. The soldiers searched, told the settlers they had found nothing, and left.
Location Description
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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Hakvasim (sheep) Junction
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One of the roadblocks (earthworks, rocks, concrete blocks or iron gates) that prevent transit of vehicles to Route 60 in the southern West Bank and block the southern entrance to Hebron. A manned pillbox supervises the place.
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Sha'ab al-Butum
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This is one of the small Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta in the southern Hebron Hills, near the settlement of Mitzpe Avigail.
Since the outbreak of the October 7, 2023 war, settler violence against residents has escalated greatly, as in the entire Palestinian community. This violent conduct receives full backing from the state and full cooperation from the IDF. The goal is to make the lives of the Palestinian residents miserable and make them abandon and leave.
The population consists of mostly shepherds who peacefully seek to cultivate the land and graze their sheep, whom the settlers treat as a dangerous enemy. They prohibit them from any movement related to herding sheep and cultivating the land and harm everything: trampling crops, breaking olive trees, smuggling herds, scaring shepherds, conducting wild searches of houses, shouting, cursing and threatening - at all hours of the day. "We are Besieged, but will not move from our land," says Lila G. New settlements are springing up around them. At first it's a bus or a truck that turns into residential buildings, on top of which every week more residential buildings and animal sheds are added. With the open encouragement of the current government, Jewish terrorism is raising its head, with authority and permission. The settlers have received army uniforms and weapons, and no one is stopping them. The police, who are supposed to protect the Palestinians from the settlers' riots, sometimes respond to calls for help, but in practice they don't do much more than provide them with a report, and they are required to go and file a complaint in Kiryat Arba Settlemnt police station . Though the settlers' identities are known, they are !never arrested.
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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
Muhammad D.Oct-29-2026Michal in Shaab Al-Butum with Ishaq Jabarin
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Umm al-Khair
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Umm al-Kheir
A Palestinian village in the southern Hebron governorate, populated by five families. The Palestinian residents settled there decades ago, after Israel expelled them from the Arad desert and purchased the land from the residents of the Palestinian village of Yatta. The village suffers from the violence of nearby Carmel settlers, from water shortage and is subject to frequent demolition of buildings by the Civil Administration.
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Zif Junction
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Zif Junction located on the crossroads that directs towards Road 356 to Yata. Yata is the district city of the southern Hebron Mountains. Usually, this junction is open to traffic. The nearby pillbox is unmanned. But the army and police are present occasionally, sometimes setting up a checkpoint and sometimes detaining residents from the big city. Often, the Israeli policemen inspect vehicles and distribute driving reports to Palestinian vehicles. s
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