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

Observers: Yehudit K. (reporting) and Muhammad D.; Translator: Natanya
Dec-02-2018
| Morning

Report of Negev Villages and Route 60

Road 60 was crowded, almost clogged. There were active checkpoints in Abda, Husha and al-Fawwar (both near the pool and at the entrance to the village, as well as the entrance to Dura, the entrance to the city of Hebron opposite Beit Haggai and the Sheep Junction and Bani Na’im.) There are so many checkpoints  in such a small area. Between Abda and al-Fawwar there are only 5 Km. In my opinion.

As agreed with MW, we will also devote time to the situation in the unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev. We opened a visit to Zarnug, an unrecognized village about 15 km from Beer Sheva on the way to Dimona (Road 25). It has 6,000 people without infrastructure and government services, but with a school, a private clinic and a dentist clinic and early childhood education. Many houses in the village received demolition orders. We arrived at the village, but to our dismay, the connection we had hoped for did not materialize and we will go  next week. This reinforces the importance of communicating with the right person, and the difficulty is the main reason why the project has not yet started.

  • 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.
  • 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

       

       

      בשיג של פארס בשוויכה
      Muhammad D.
      Jul-5-2026
      Fares's guestroom in Shweika
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