At-Tuwani - settlers accompanied by soldiers search the villagere
The purpose of the trip was a visit to Khalet Al Daba‘, a village south of At-Tuwani in Masafer Yatta.
It is important to note that the day before during the night hours, several shots were fired at the Asa’el illegal outpost, which is located on Route 317, not far from the junction between Route 60 and Route 317, and the industrial area, Meitar, and the offices of the South Mount Hebron Regional Council.
There were no injuries, but several houses had broken glass as a result of damage to the windows. Usually, such a situation predicts an accumulation of difficulties and a multitude of barriers, and indeed it was so.
At the main entrance to Samu’, a barrier consisting of a huge rock and after the rock two earth embankments. A car cannot pass there.
In front of the entrance to the village of At-Tuwani, at the entrance to Yatta, a checkpoint consisting of huge roadblocks and three soldiers who check every vehicle. Both entering and exiting.
We picked up Nasser Adra from At-Tuwani, who accompanied us to visit Jaber Dababasa in Khalet Al Daba‘.
On the way, Nasser told us of an event that occurred a few days earlier. About 10 settlers from the Mitzpe Yair outpost, east of the Susiya settlement, entered At-Tuwani late at night, claiming that their car had been stolen and they came to look for it. The familiar excuse is usually searching for lost sheep. The army accompanied the settlers, as usual, and of course nothing was found. The settlers harassed the Palestinians for hours and demonstrated their violencee as usual.
We are sitting in Shig, to hear details of what has been going on with them recently: The army comes at least 3 times a week, shows its presence and leaves.
By the way, on the previous visit to them, Palestinian flags decorated the fence around the area where we were sitting. This time the fence was without the flags. The reason, of course, is that the army takes them down every time they are put up.
The settler from Havat Ma’on, who established his own farm, in front of Khalet Al Daba‘, which we reported on in the previous visit, usually comes with his herd to the nearby olive grove, which belongs to the Dababasa family.
They call the army and the volunteers who sometimes stay with them, and then the settler leaves.
Two volunteers from ISO are currently staying in the village, a woman from France and a man from Sicily. They sleep for several days in Shig and then move to other places as needed.
Well done to them.
This morning, according to Jaber, his uncle, Saud, 60 years old, tried to reach Halat al-Daba from the village of Kharmel (in front of At-Tuwani). The army did not allow him to pass through the checkpoint, and he was forced to walk on side roads for over two hours.
Naser Adra adds that also in Susiya they set up a checkpoint from early in the morning, which did not allow the teachers who come to At-Tuwani and other villages to get to the schools on time. Only after 8, after an inspection, they are allowed to go through.
When we left At-Tuwani for road 317, at the checkpoint in front of us at the entrance to |Yatta, there were still three soldiers checking every vehicle, coming and going.
ISO = INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY ORGANIZATION.
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
MuhammadFeb-24-2026South Hebron Hill, Beit Hagai: Paving an internal security road
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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
MuhammadFeb-24-2026South Hebron Hill, Beit Hagai: Paving an internal security road
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