Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Tarqumiya, Tue 19.5.09, Morning
Translation: Bracha B.A.
06:30 – 10:00
Sansana
06:45 the workers who are coming across exit immediately without delay. Two bus loads of prisoners' families are waiting to cross. This border crossing functions without problems. It is difficult only to see the architecture of evil that exists here.
Road 60
It is now possible to enter the village of Dir Razak – the roadblock has been left in place for historical reasons, or perhaps for re-closing the entrance in the future, but a side road has been paved. |The villagers can now drive on Road 60 to Dura El Fawar, where traffic flows and the pillbox is manned. Underneath Beit Hagai – the gray gate that is always closed is open today by the army. It’s important to continue to follow and a lot of Palestinian taxis are taking advantage of the opening and are going through. One of the drivers tells us that the army forgot to close the gate. The gate has only been open since this morning and they will undoubtedly close it again soon.
The pillbox at the Sheep's Crossing is manned, and traffic is flowing.
At Shuyuh-Hebron pedestrians cross from one side to the other and traffic is heavy.
Hebron
The talk about opening the Tzion route which the Palestinians call the Avraham Road is only lip service since nothing has been opened, and since another two checkpoints have been put up that are operated by the border police. One gets the feeling that the siege around the Palestinian neighborhoods has not been made easier, but rather been intensified.
Patriarchs' Hill [Givat Ha’avot]: Another tall watchtower with an Israeli flag flying proudly above it has been put up along the fence that separates the Givat Ha’avot Neighborhood and the Palestinian neighborhood.
The House of Dispute: The jeep from the border patrol that was parked on the road under the House of Contention has not been here for a week. Things are now easier for people and they are no longer detained. Anyone going up via the House of Contention is sometimes detained by the border police.
160 Curve CP: Border police soldiers do not detain the children who are crossing to go to school. Two girls in wheelchairs are pushed by their friends. The chairs are old and worn and the sight is hard to watch. On our way back we see one of the soldiers returning an ID card to one of the detainees. It is already after 8:00 and there is almost no pedestrian traffic.
The Pharmacy CP: The gates and fences have been painted orange, and another watchtower has been put up above the caravan and another on the side. Children are crossing without being checked, but occasionally soldiers from the border patrol detain people. One of them – a technology teacher at the Al Ibrahima School – tells us that it is a shameful that the children see him being detained. The school assistant tells us that children are not being checked because we are present. Some of the older children use the checkpoint as an excuse to be late for school, and the assistant comes to call them. Kids will be kids…
Patriarchs' Tombs' Cave CP: Five detainees were released the moment we arrived. The loudspeakers from the Gutnik Center blare out Hassidic music and the shops are still closed.
Tarpat CP, Tel Romeida CP: People pass through without any problems and no one is being detained. In the Tel Romeida neighborhood above in back of the Chabad Cemetery a lot of girls are walking to school in the H1 area. My interpretation of this is that to attend the Kordova School is now a political statement and obligation.
Givat Haharsina CP Note! – the name must be changed: from now on the checkpoint should be called by the Palestinian name “the Kafisha Neighborhood Checkpoint”. Kafisha is a large family of 800 people who bought a plot of land twenty years ago. The border police is now building something on it and has uprooted the trees that were there and cleared the area. It is not clear what is going to happen there. The plot was used by the Kafisha family as a storeroom for materials for their factors that manufactures fireplaces and solar heaters which is on the opposite side of the road. We gave them our phone numbers in order to let us know what happens – and we gave them the contact details for M. from Yesh Din so that they would learn the facts, verify them, and see how they could be helped and learn why the army confiscated their plot.This time we exited Hebron without encountering Anat and Ofer – a great personal relief – but the Palestinians still suffer from them and from other like them.
Road 35
Everything is as usual – all the checkpoints are in place. All the crossings that were open are still open and all the pillboxes are manned.
Idna-Tarqumyia: A sheep was run over on the road by two Palestinian cars the compensation is NIS 1000 for the dead sheep . Aside from that everything on the road is as usual.
Tarqumyia: We counted 30 trucks from the Palestinian side and the same number on the Israeli side. The waiting time was the same in both directions. At the crossing itself the dog handlers appear to be resting and no cars are checked. The parking lot is full of Palestinian cars and there are no family visits [to prisoners] today and we heard no complaints about the crossing of workers in the morning.
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
Michal TsadikJan-29-2026Umm al-Khair - a security risk for Carmel settlers
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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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