Sha'ab al-Butum - Daily settler incursions
We went along Route 60, even though it makes the journey longer. The reason is the desire to buy groceries for the Leila and Muhammad Jabarin family, at Nabil’s at the Zif junction.
Samu’ is open.
Simiya is open.
Qilqis closed.
The Sheep Junction is open towards Hebron, towards Yatta it is closed.
At Nabil’s grocery store, we met Salem Hadalin, the brother of the late Odeh, who was murdered by the evil settler Yinon Levi from the Meitarim farm. Salem talks about the unbearable situation. Yinon continues the work he started on the day of the murder, cutting water pipes to the village, and the army and police are often present in the village. Salem came to the grocery store to buy water for the many guests who come to them. We told Salem that would we pay for the water, and he thanked and said that he appreciated it very much.
We bought groceries as usual for Leila and Muhammad and their family. When we arrived, we noticed that an improvised wall had been built around the house, which slightly blocks the possibility of entering the area with an ATV. Also, a new house that was built two days ago near the Amichai Shilo outpost, stands out with its brown color.
There were two activists there to protect them in their house. One from Germany and the other from Italy. It is important that they stay there all the time, day and night.
We were invited to sit in the family’s cave because it is hot, very hot, outside. The family members tell of daily incursions into their land by the herd of the settler in the outpost opposite them. They stopped contacting the police because again and again there is no result. They say that in the area of Abu Hani, who was expelled from his farm not far from the settlement Avigail, you can see chairs placed there by settlers who raided the place, stole items and evicted Abu Hani, who lives in Yatta. We were treated to a wonderful meal and food from Leila.
We left clothes, a basket of food and games.
Leila and two of her children joined us on the return trip and got off near the road on their way to a family member’s wedding in Yatta. From there, their family members would pick them up. When we asked how they would have gotten there if we hadn’t come, they said either with their tractor or on foot. It’s quite a long way and they were carrying packages in their hands. We said goodbye until next time.
#ThisIsTheOccupation
Location Description
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
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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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