Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Tarqumiya, Tue 11.11.08, Morning
06:30-09:30
Sansana-Metar CP:
At 6:40, 20 workers are still in the checking lane. Four family visits' buses are awaiting their turn; sand tracks at the back-to-back passageway. All appears normal and ordinary and operates well – no complaints from the Palestinians.
Road 60
Dahariya –Blocked as usual. There's a flow of people moving from one side of the blockage to the other. Samoah – a new, grey gate was set up; there are many more Palestenians on the road – it really doesn't look like an apartheid road anymore.
Dura Elfawwar –Five busloads of children are getting ready for their annual trip; the pillbox is manned, and traffic flows.
Shiuyukh-Hebron –Children walk across, on their way to school. No military vehicles.
Sheep Crossing –Pillbox is manned, traffic flows.
Road 35
Humanitarian PC –Pillbox is manned and traffic flows.
The Olive passage –Open.Halhul-Hebron Bridge – Traffic flows, pillbox is manned. Next to Beit Kakhil –Pillbox manned, the works towards setting up an antenna have concluded.
Idna-Tarquomiya –Traffic flows, pillbox is manned. On this road, too, we see only two military vehicles and many Palestinian ones – occupation feels peaceful today.
Tarqumiya Many trucks await their turn at the "back-to-back" goods loading gate. After we left, a Jerusalemite trader called us complaining that they were made to take cloths off at Tarqumiya – a new scanner was brought in and those who had anything sounding in their pockets were required to go through it – the scanner is there for a month and its operation entails some (technical) adjustments. We promised to talk to the CP commander.
Road 356
Pne Hever CP –Open. At the Zif junction, the grey gate was removed and so, too, the read sign, reading, "Entry to Palestinian territory is prohibited" [etc.]. We decided to drive on, from there, to the Sheep Crossing. The route is beautiful and we discovered another olive-oil press – it's very quiet today.
Hebron
Since Sukot, we are presented with a "closed military area" edict whenever we arrive there. It is renewed every 48hrs. So today, too, we were presented with it. We managed to get midway, on to the Shouhada St., when we were stopped by the patrol. Still, we've been able to see lots of children on their way to school and two girls in wheelchairs heading towards the girls' school. There are many Palestinian flags on the houses –countering the Israeli flags. Overall, there is much military presence; we are not allowed to go up to Tel Rumeida. The only way to get there is to change our address in our ID card. What are they hiding there, the military, in Hebron? And why are we taken for provocateurs… it is important to keep coming – to show we care.
Attached – photos of the Federman Farm ruins.
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
Raya YeorDec-18-2025Hebron - Yusri Jaber and part of his family
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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
Smadar BeckerApr-10-2026New Israeli flags placed for miles on Highway 317 to prove who is sovereign
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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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