a-Tuwani people are attacked by the settlers of Havat Maon
We went to a-Tuwani to hear about what happened there on Saturday when they were attacked by the settlers of Havat Maon.
Because of the tension in Hebron, we decided to not to go there, but hear Idris’s story through the phone.
Severe clash with the military. In H1 a large amount of gas grenades were thrown and there were many injuries and arrests earlier this week, and it does not seem to be calming down.
a-Tuwani:
We sat with Nasser Adra (the windows of his car are shattered from previous events, still in the backyard). And this is his story:
On Saturday morning the 8.5 again about 15 people with dogs came to the cistern where their shepherds and also ones from Umm Fakara were. They cursed the Palestininian and threw stones into the well. The cistern is used by the flocks and people for drinking. But the settlers go into the cistern knowing that the water is also used for human consumption. The shepherds went home because they did not want to warm the atmosphere.
At 4:30 in the afternoon, the shepherds went out again. The settlers arrived again. They made themselves comfortable and started cursing the shepherd, telling them that this is not their land and they have to get out. Stones were thrown again. Nasser accompanied by volunteers from Israel arrived and then the settlers left but other settlers took their place.
Finally the army and police arrived. Nasser Nawaja’a was injured in the stone-throwing and the Council Chairman of a-Tawani, Muhammad, was injured in his leg.
Nasser says the settlers wanted to beat the shepherd up. But the arrival of Basel and Nasser made them simply walk away and settle for throwing stones, until dark. Then the settlers got closer and closer to Juma’a’s mother’s house. Towards evening the army threw a gas grenade from where they had positioned themselves on the farm overlooking the houses of a-Tuwani which were nearest to them. Only between 6 and 9 in the evening did the police arrive to calm things down.
But since then the villagers are constantly on guard, afraid of further attacks in the areas between the village and the settlement, and are afraid that the settlers are trying to make a temporary settlement near the most extreme house of the village (there was a time when they built a tent there and settled down and they seem to be trying to take over these areas).
On Monday, May 10th, the army and police again returned the settlers to the farm.
Throughout the last period, we have witnessed the settlers’ attempts to expand the settlement areas and enter other areas in a blatant and violent manner.
A-Tuwani
See all reports for this place-
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
Michal TsadikJan-29-2026Umm al-Khair - a security risk for Carmel settlers
-
Hebron
See all reports for this place-
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
-
South Hebron Hills
See all reports for this place-
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 TsadikJan-29-2026Umm al-Khair - a security risk for Carmel settlers
-