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Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Tarqumiya, Tue 2.9.08, Morning

Observers: Michal T. and Hagit B. (reports)
Sep-02-2008
| Morning

Guest: Shlomit

06:00-10:00
Clarification: the Palestinian Authority has moved to winter time – so whilst we arrived at the CP at 06:00, for the Palestinians it was only 05:00. 

Meytar-Sansana CP
:
Workers pass immediately and without any problems – they have complained that on return time, there are many disputes between workers and prisoners' families, but the problem is immediately and efficiently handled and CP commanders open up additional checking positions. Kiosks are shut due to Ramadan.  

The road leading to Shumeria and Eshkolot
:  We went there because I saw a Fiat Uno just like the one stolen from me yesterday in Be'er Sheba. We followed the vehicle. Close to the quarry – the only opening in the fence – there are reservists in the observation post – they claim that illegals almost don't infiltrate here anymore.  

Road 60:
The reconstructed road was opened. There is almost no traffic. It is 05:30, Palestinian time. On our way back, close to Beit Hagai – an accident. A military vehicle rolled over and parking next to it there are many military vehicles – other than that, there is almost no traffic and no children are seen on the road. All pillboxes are manned and all blockages are in place. On the road, we've bought some vegetables – helping out the Palestinian economy and getting some wonderful zucchini and green beans at a bargain. 

Road 35
:
We've rubbed our eyes, is it possible to say of this road that it is no longer an apartheid road – lots of Palestinian vehicles: we haven't counted them. At the truck lane entry to Hebron– two tired soldiers rubbing their eyes and no traffic, perhaps due to Ramadan, perhaps the early hour. There are no grapes and figs yet – too early. 

Idna-Tarqumiya:
Work on the oil-press is in full force now – pillbox is manned, traffic flows.  

Tarqumiya:
Workers went quickly through — it takes ten minutes, according to the drivers who stayed put. Two bus loads of prisoners' families' visits – in one of them, two children who wanted to visit their elder brother in prison, but were not allowed to pass because their mother forgot to give them her identity card. The bus driver takes them back to Bethlehem. Kiosk is shut – Ramadan.  A few people arrive at the Laison & Coordination Administration (LCA) at the CP – and it is a pity that the LCA doesn't work at full capacity. It provides the same services as provided by the Hebron LCA – but for some reason, the Palestinians prefer going to Hebron and waiting long.  

Hebron:
Golani Battalion 13 mans Hebron now. A minyan gathers at the "Hazon David" synagogue, down the patriarch's hill. Hebron's Palestinians are still asleep and Hebron seems even more deserted than usual. Golani soldiers added some CPs along the road, and there is a military jeep even before the patriarchs' cave is reached – soldiers guard the children of "the disputed house" who await their school bus.The new neighborhood – "Hebron Heroes" – is deserted, and sewage floods the entire area below Kiryat Arba. At every post and every CP – four soldiers and more, perhaps because of Ramadan, perhaps because of school year opening. But the feeling is that there are no Palestinians and still, the place is packed with soldiers.

Next to Kikar Gross: Soldiers stand on the cemetery's wall, guarding the Jewish quarter's children.
Down from the Kordoba School: Another CP.
Tel Rumeida CP: Whoever tries to pass through is being stopped.
Tarpat CP: Free passage.
Patriarch's Tomb Cave CPs: Empty. A blue police jeep awaits the Palestinian children – but they don't arrive because it is still terribly early – that's it.  

  • 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 - בקשת פיצויים בגין הפקעת אדמה
      Muhammad D.
      May-13-2026
      Hebron - Request for compensation for land expropriation
  • 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

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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

       

       

      המכונה הרועשת שמפריעה לצה"ל
      Michal Tsadik
      May-20-2026
      The noisy machine that disturbs the IDF
  • Tarqumiya CP

    See all reports for this place
    • 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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