Halawa - A complaint about settler violence should be filed in Arad, a place they cannot reach
We had not been to the Meitar checkpoint in a while. It has been almost completely shut down since October 7. Workers are almost completely prohibited from entering Israel.
It was very rainy, very cold and gray. Rain is a blessing (not for everyone, of course)
We stopped there for a few minutes to meet a man from the Ramadin area who, like everyone else, is in very dire financial straits. At his request, we gave him money and not groceries. According to him, in his hometown he could buy more groceries for the same amount because they are cheaper. It’s enough for a man to beg for help to bring food to his children. We can at least give him a small feeling that he is also determining a little how to manage his difficult life.
Further along the road on Route 60, Israeli flags wave on every hill. To mark Israeli control on every corner. Opposite Shima, on the hill of Havat Yehuda, a Hanukkah menorah is also lit next to the torn flag. Indeed, the flags, most of them are ragged and torn. For those who care about this flag, one would expect the flags to be intact and clean. But without realizing it, they reflect our sad state.
All entrances to Samu’ are blocked.
The same thing at Abdah where the roads have been closed all the month.
The entrance to Dahariya, as it is all year round, is closed.
The Dura-al Fawwar junction is also closed. People have to walk for miles, even in this harsh weather.
We went to A-Tuwani, first and foremost to congratulate Basel Adra and wish him mazal tov on the birth of his daughter. But also, to ask about their well-being in these difficult times. The baby is still in the hospital.
We bought chocolate and cookies at Nabil’s grocery store at Zif Junction, a small gift. Basel arrived to thank us. Afterwards he would go to bring his wife and baby home.
“The baby’s name?” I ask.
“Tiya,” he answers, and explains to my question the meaning of the name, which is actually a Greek name and means both a cute girl and a gift from God. (I hope that when she comes into the world, she will also bring a blessing to us all.)
Nasser talks about the events of the last few weeks and begins by telling us how the settlers have more and more power in the past year.
For example, one night five days ago, the people of nearby Rakiz woke up to the sound of tractors at 10 p.m. and also heard the voices of many people talking. It turns out that the settlers intended to block the road to Mitzpe Abigail.
Abu Harun called the police to complain about this. He asked if this was an IDF plan. They told him that it was the settlers’ initiative and that he should file a complaint. So he went, but he knew that nothing would be done.
Nasser adds that if it were the other way around, they would have come immediately and responded firmly. He also tells us about Halawa near Jimba about a week and a half ago, where two months ago a new settler arrived there from Havat Maon. Then he stole a fence which was used to keep in the sheep, stole a water tank and set up shop near Halawa’s water cistern. Then he arrived with four other young men.
When the Palestinians complained to the police, they were told that it was a military area and only the army has the right to decide what is allowed and what is not allowed to be done there.
As mentioned, a week and a half ago, when 5 family members, all on the tractor, returned from shopping in Yatta in the evening. About 20 teenagers attacked them, shouted: “Get off the tractor,” cursed, searched everyone, took their IDs and a lot of money. They beat them, pulled a woman’s headscarf from her head and went down to the family’s caves and to the barn, claiming that they were looking for a goat that the Palestinians had stolen from them.
When the Palestinians complained to the police, they were told that they should file the complaint with the Arad police station to which the Jimba area belongs. They cannot get to Arad, of course.
After a while, the rioters left, throwing the IDs and the headscarf on the side of the road, but they did not return the 1,140 shekels which had taken from the bag of the woman.
This is another routine incident.
“It’s like this all the time,” says Nasser, “and no one bothers the settlers or prevents them from rioting, and of course no one protects us.”
Location Description
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
Daphna JungMar-16-2025Simia: Farhan and his wife
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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.
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Masafer 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), 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 1980's 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 Palestiniian villages retain a special lifestyle and ancient agricultural culture. They also posses 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 in 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 has started, and life has become 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
Daphna JungMar-16-2025Simia: Farhan and his wife
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