Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills
Meitar Checkpoint
Quiet when we go through. Five buses transporting relatives of prisoners wait in the parking lot.
We see people gathered at the village of Dari’at, on Highway 356. We drive into the village – it’s a funeral. Someone has been murdered in a revenge killing. We leave hurriedly.
Hebron
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the massacre carried out by Baruch Goldstein in the Cave of the Patriarchs. Work is underway in the park where he’s buried. They’re building a wall at the edge of the park, as if to remove the grave from the park. We wonder whether that’s a change in policy by the Kiryat Arba municipality…
The city itself is very quiet, seeming fairly deserted. Bassem happily shows us the second storey of his house and invites us to his son’s wedding in a month and a half.
‘Abed travelled to Ramallah to obtain authorization from the Palestinian Health Ministry for his grandson to have an operation in Israel. He’s three weeks old, born with a very serious disease of the blood vessels. Doctors at the Hebron hospital thought to amputate his legs. The baby will apparently be hospitalized in Tel HaShomer. We left our phone number, in case he needs something. Women are celebrating the birth of a baby with a party held next to the worshippers rout, near Kiryat Arba. They pull me in joyfully, exulting… The excavations at Tel Rumeida continue; Mrs. Abu Heikhal tells us they found a Moslem cemetery but the settlers have already begun telling people that the biblical town of Hebron was located exactly at that site. A Border Police jeep is parked at the entrance to her home; the soldiers dash in our direction as soon as they see us…
There’s a flying checkpoint at the Dura al-Fawwar junction on our way back, on the al-Fawwar side. A Palestinian tells us that a few youths threw rocks… They’ve already been waiting an hour and a half, and haven’t been allowed through. None of the soldiers will talk to us. But they open the road two minutes after we arrive.
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:
- Bet Hameriva CP- manned with a pillbox
- Kapisha quarter CP (the northern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
- The 160 turn CP (the southern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
- Avraham Avinu quarter - watch station
- The pharmacy CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
- Tarpat (1929) CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
- Tel Rumeida CP - guarding station
- Beit Hadassah CP - guarding station
Three checkpoints around the Tomb of the Patriarchs
Leah ShakdielApr-8-2025Hebron: A sign advertising a tempting real estate
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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
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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
Muhammad D.May-13-2025Susiya - at Ahmad and Halima Nawaja'a
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