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Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills

Observers: Hagit Back (reporting and photographing); Natanya Ginsburg (translating)
Dec-24-2018
| Morning

On the way to the Meitar checkpoint and around it, we see that  the Border Police have intensified their efforts to catch illegal workers.  All the exits and entrances to Road 60 are open with no checkpoints or roadblocks.

Only the bulldozer is picking up the roadblocks and stones on both sides of Route 60.

Last night I received pictures from Issa that they stole a gate from a house next to the Jilber checkpoint in Tel Rumeida.  I met Issa today who took me to show the place. The soldiers who were less than ten meters away did not see or move. The house is the home of Yisha Abu Haykal.

In the picture below: The fence without a gate. The soldier shouts to Issa to be quiet. 

We accompanied him in the previous attacks from which he  suffered and we were with him in other crises, I became old and he became a very impressive activist. In this house, the Hebron people learned to photograph with the  B’Tselem cameras by Michael, Tzipi’s son. I have known Issa since he was a boy.  Michael lived there and taught them. Issa and Michael became  bosom friends. Michael is sick. And now Issa leads the non-violent opposition in Hebron.

Last night, settlers demolished a room that had been enlarged. It was very hard and heavy work to carry the building materials, because only Jewish cars are allowed to drive there, and the financial and personal damage is great. There, too, the demolition  is carried on  under the soldiers’ noses. In the security cameras no faces are seen. They all wear stocking hats. But how did one settler say today? They’ll all get out of here themselves or we’ll blow them up.

In the meantime, the Palestinians’ “standfastness” is very impressive.

The new blockages that the bulldozers next to the village of Deir Razih.

It was very cold also in the heart.  

  • 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

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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
  • 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

       

       

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