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Dura-Al Fawwar Junction, Hebron, South Hebron Hills

Observers: Ariela Slonim (reporting and photographing); Translator: Natanya
Jan-30-2018
| Morning

The parking lot at the Meitar checkpoint is full. The trucks on the Israeli side are full and it looks like a train station. Between Shama and Estamoah there ae many army and police vehicles.

At the entrance to Samu’a, a Border Police jeep stops the cars entering the village.

Abda – The gate next to the pillbox is open.

At the Dura-alFawwar junction the roads are open. Again the vegetable stalls have been destroyed.

In the Jabar neighborhood of Hebron, a grandfather and his grandson, who appears to be less than three years old, with very short legs, push a cart loaded with goods up the steep slope. Traveling on this street is permitted only for Israeli cars.

At Abed’s home in Hebron, we met an angry and desperate local young man who was ordered to take off his shoes at the Cave of the Patriarchs. The many checkpoints that the Palestinian residents of Hebron are forced to cross daily in their daily  routine  are not enough but now also the removal of the shoes.It seems that this directive has increased the incitement and caused great anger. And again, despair is growing. For those who have to go through this in addition to the rest of the restrictions, it seems one step too much and is perceived as humiliation. Is this a local initiative of a young new commander or an order from above?

On our way back we see many soldiers at the entrance of Dahariya.

Between Shamah and Eshtamoa dozens of buses are bringing hundreds of youths and heavy army and police force guarding them. Of course, Israeli flags are waving proudly.

After the passage at the checkpointPhoto: Ariela Slonim

On our way back we see many soldiers at the entrance of DahariyaPhoto: Ariela Slonim
  • Dura Al-Fawwar Junction

    See all reports for this place
    • 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.
  • 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:

       

      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 - בקשת פיצויים בגין הפקעת אדמה
      Muhammad D.
      May-13-2026
      Hebron - Request for compensation for land expropriation
  • 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

       

       

      סמדר עם טאלב במשמרת בקוואוויס
      Muhammad D.
      Jul-12-2026
      Smadar with Taleb on duty at Qawawis
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