Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills, Tarqumiya, Mon 2.1.12, Morning
Guest: Shachar
Translator: Charles K.
Meitar crossing
Many laborers arrived despite the rain and fog. They’re waiting on the Israeli side of the crossing for their employers to pick them up
Route 60.
Nothing out of the ordinary along the road. The weather affects everyone.
Hebron
The security guard at the entrance to Kiryat Arba again asks who we are, and we again must remind him that we’re all citizens with equal rights [that’s what’s written, at least] and that it’s unacceptable to demand an ID only from someone who doesn’t look Jewish. Again he explains that he has the authority and instructions from the police to ask for IDs. Again he calls “big brother;” what a quixotic battle in one of the bastions of Israeli racism. We’ll continue; even stones are worn away by water.
Golani soldiers in the town since last Thursday. Their signs stand out at the base at the entrance to town.
Rain, fog and bone-chilling cold.
Hagit and Shachar again walk along the new apartheid path which is marked similarly to those of the Nature Protection Society, indicating the shortcut for residents of Tel Rumeida, beginning at the stairs up to the Cordova school/
I remain with our driver because of what has happened in the past; it’s not a good idea to leave him alone here.
They, of course, run into a soldier who reminds them that this path is restricted to the Jewish residents of Tel Rumeida. And, of course…a bottle is thrown at them from one of the trailers.
That’s how it ends this time. Otherwise, nothing special occurred.
Next to one of the houses along the road down from Tel Rumeida to the Tarpa”t checkpoint we met a man who lives there. He’s a physician working in town, in the H1 area.
“Everything is ok,” he says. “It’s hard, of course, that I can’t drive my car from home to the hospital,” but everything is ok.
Everything is deserted and closed down, even – by and large – around the Cave of the Patriarchs. There are always Jewish visitors coming in groups, despite the weather.
We drove home via the Tarqumiya crossing.
Highway 35
Quiet and deserted. The soldiers came down from the pillbox next to the grocery but haven’t detained anyone.
At Tarqumiya they’re as “nice” as ever. Again the questions – who are we, where did we come from. Again asking to see only M’s ID. We insist they check ours also. Again they send us to the inspection area on our right. They open and inspect the car. Again they ask for our IDs. The inspector smiles apologetically. “Orders.” “Can’t she exercise any discretion?” we ask. Can’t you see we’re not security risks? A shrug. “Do you also ask residents of Telem and Adura for IDs?”
“Yes,” she replies grudgingly. Why don’t we believe her?
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
Muhammad D.May-13-2026Hebron - Request for compensation for land expropriation
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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.Jul-23-2026The new settlement, starting June 1, 2026, opposite Khallet al-Humus.
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Tarqumiya CP
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The Tarqumiya Checkpoint is one of the largest and busiest checkpoints where people and goods cross into Israel. It is located on the Separation Barrier close to the Green Line, on Road 35 (connecting Beer Sheva and Hebron). It is run by the Israel Defense Ministry’s Crossings Administration with civilian secuirty companies running the day to day operations. The checkpoint is indeed open to vehicles in both directions 24/7, but Palestinians are prevented from crossing in vehicles, except in special cases. MachsomWatch activists visit the checkpoint as it opens at 3:45 am, in order to observe the daily passage of nearly 10,000 Palestinian workers. The workers arrive from throughout the Southern West Bank. Our activists report on the tremendous overcrowding at this checkpoint; they have observed young men climbing and scrambling on the fences and roofs of the ‘access cages’. This is how the work day begins for those who ‘build the land of Israel’. updated November 2019
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