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

Observers: Judy and Muhammad
Mar-07-2022
| Morning

On the road to the Meitar checkpoint, there were 2 jeeps of Border Police stopping private buses to check if the passengers included Palestinians who had illegally entered Israel to find work. Lately, these checks are occurring daily until 12:00. The road to Deir Razih was blocked by an army jeep and Border Police were stopping cars and giving tickets near the Qilqis junction.

The Dura junction is open today.

We drove to the DCO. Several Palestinians were entering the area in order to receive final permission to enter Israel. They first must receive permission from their bosses at work. The second step is to go to the DCO. We spoke to Yusuf at the entry gate  He told us that he sometimes receives permission on the same day. At other times, he must return several times before permission is granted. If permission is denied, they are told that the denial came from the police or the GSS. It is then up to them to find out the reason for the denial. If possible, they apply again. We asked Yusuf about the atmosphere in Hebron, he said it was calm.

As usual, there are very few pedestrians on the streets of Hebron. A small group of young people were listening attentively to a guide from Breaking the Silence near the entrance to Cave of the Patriarchs. A larger group of young people were following a settler guide down Shudada St.

Back on Route 60, there was a police car blocking the road leading up to the Kiryat Arba industrial area which wasn’t there when we went up the road earlier. Palestinian licenses were being checked and tickets issued. We passed soldiers near the Fawwar junction. Four soldiers on the left side of the road stood near a Palestinian vegetable field after having driven the farmers from the field. Three soldiers were on the right side of the road overlooking the spring on the other side of the road.

As we approached the Meitar checkpoint, there were 2 buses waiting for families returning from their weekly visits to their incarcerated family members.

  • 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.
  • 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 - יוסרי ג'אבר וחלק ממשפחתו
      Raya Yeor
      Dec-18-2025
      Hebron - Yusri Jaber and part of his family
  • 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

       

       

      דרום הר חברון. הפנייה ל'אפקה', אחד המצפים החדשים מול עבדה
      Leah Shakdiel
      Apr-29-2026
      South Hebron Hills. The turn to 'Afeka', one of the new outposts facing Abda
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