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Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills, Tue 25.6.13, Morning

Observers: Natanya G. and Michal Tz. (reports)
Jun-25-2013
| Morning

Translator:  Charles K.

 

Meitar crossing

 

Today the large truck parking lot on the Israeli side opened.  “We were lucky” to see the heavy trucks arrive.  Otherwise all went normally. 

Highway 60 is the same.  The balloon at the base near Beit Haggai begins to rise.

 

Hebron

It’s summer:  many children in the street, with and without their mothers.

Abed, as usual, invites us into his shop opposite the Muslim entrance to the Cave of the Patriarchs.   He wants to tell us that for the past two months tourists haven’t been allowed to approach his shop following an argument he had with a Border Police soldier.  He said that Avi Biton, from the DCO, told the Border Police to allow him to receive customers as usual, but the Border Police soldiers ignore the instruction and block the road so the tourists must pass at a distance when they come and when they leave the site, and when they exit far from the shop they no longer have time to reach him, and his livelihood suffers.  That happened when a new commander of the Cave of the Patriarchs area took over.  And we ask:  why destroy even more the fragile fabric of normalcy?  The DCO has no reason to prevent tourists from reaching his shop, so why are the Border Police doing so?  Revenge?  Showing who’s boss?  Really brilliant.  They say no because they can.  We should contact the Border Police spokesperson for an explanation.

There we also met Shaker Tamimi who lives near the Gal farm and who, two months ago, had serious trouble when he was falsely arrested.  He says everything’s usually ok.  He can work his fields without interference.  Only that his donkey was stolen by settlers a few days ago and he had to spend 10 hours at the Kiryat Arba police station until it was returned.  In other words, continuing “minor” harassment.

No detainees at checkpoints in town.

“An ordinary weekday.”

  • 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

      חברון: שלט מפרסם נדלן מפתה
      Leah Shakdiel
      Apr-8-2025
      Hebron: A sign advertising a tempting real estate
  • Meitar checkpoint / Sansana

    See all reports for this place
    • 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

    See all reports for this place
    • 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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      Raya Yeor
      May-15-2025
      No-traffic signs around Dahariya
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