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Dura-Al Fawwar Junction, Hakvasim (sheep) Junction, Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills

Observers: Ariela (reporting and photographing) and M.; Translator: Natanya
Feb-19-2019
| Morning

At 10 am the parking lot at the Meitar checkpoint is full.

We drive on Route 60 to Hebron. In Eshtamoa they are building greenhouses and soldiers are guarding the settlement.

The entrance to  Samu’a is open. At Etgar 13, Simia,  there are only a few pages left of what once was a school.

The entrance to Dahariya is open. In ‘Abda, the gate next to the pillbox is closed as usual, but the almond trees are in bloom and the sheep  grazing.

At Al-Fawwar junction, there are remains of burned tires, but the entrance to the village is open.

The small plots of land at crossroad and their owners are selling their wonderful produce which seems to disturbe very much the security of the State of Israel. The army dug a deep ditch along the road and piled up a battery of ground to prevent the access to fields of cabbage and lettuce, cucumbers and other suspicious products. And of course the owners of the plots will not be able to sell their wares anymore. About 15 people made a living from these fields and now they are desperate and without a livelihood and the State of Israel has created for itself another group of desperate people.

On Route 356 cameras are being installed at the entrance of the  desolate industrial zone of Kiryat Arba,

On Route 60, there are no checkpoints at the Sheep Junction nor at the Beit Haggai junction. At the crossroads of the road Israeli police stop Palestinian vehicles.

Hebron itself is quite deserted, apparently the cold left the people in the houses.

Students returning from school go between the almond trees and the barbed wire fences.

An elderly man is forced to walk as travel by car is only permitted to Israelis. The only transport that the Palestinians are allowed is a donkey and a cart.

The entrance to Gliklis is completely blocked and two soldiers stand guard on the huge stone blocks. Opposite them on the other side of the road an army jeep and some soldiers guards other soldiers who are guarding the stones. Two young women walk on road 60. The usual routine of road 60

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Hebron

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    • 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:

       

      1. Bet Hameriva CP- manned with a pillbox
      2. Kapisha quarter CP (the northern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
      3. The 160 turn CP (the southern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
      4. Avraham Avinu quarter - watch station
      5. The pharmacy CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
      6. Tarpat (1929) CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
      7. Tel Rumeida CP - guarding station
      8. Beit Hadassah CP - guarding station

      Three checkpoints around the Tomb of the Patriarchs

      חברון, מתנחלים השחיתו שלט של בית הספר לבנות
      Lea Shakdiel
      May-27-2025
      Hebron, settlers vandalized the sign of the girls' school
  • Meitar checkpoint / Sansana

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    • Meitar Checkpoint / Sansana The checkpoint is located on the Green Line and serves as a border crossing between Israel and the West Bank. It is managed by the  Border Crossing Authority of the Defense Ministry. It is comprised of sections for the transfer of goods as well as a vehicle checkpoint (intended for holders of blue identity cards, foreign nationals or diplomats and international organizations). Passing of Palestinians is prohibited, except for those with entry permits to Israel. Palestinians  are permitted to cross on foot only. The crossing  has a DCO / DCL / DCL / DCL (District Coordination  Office), a customs unit, supervision, and a police unit. In the last year, a breach has been opened  in the fence, not far from the crossing. This breach is known to all, including the army. There does not appear to be any interest in blocking it, probably as it permits needed Palestinian workers without the bureaucratic permits to get to work in Israel. Food stalls and a parking area economy have been created, but incidents of violent abuse by border police have also been recorded. Updated April 2022
  • 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

       

       

      פוקיקיס - נערים מתנחלים מגיעים עם עדר ומטרידים את בני המשפחה
      A Palestinian resident
      Jun-9-2025
      Fuqiqis - Settler boys arrive with a herd and harass family members
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