Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Thu 29.4.10, Morning
Guests: Dahlia and Soreen.
Sansana-Meitar
All is quiet. Three trucks are lined up at the control post. On the Israeli side some twenty men wait to be picked up by their employers.
Route 60
Dura Alfawwar: As we approach Dura we encounter a few Palestinian cars on the road. The crossroads/checkpoint is open and traffic, such as it is, flows. A few pedestrians risk their lives on the margins of the road, including school-children. Quite a bit of donkey transport, including 4 happy little souls on the back of one small beast.
Hebron – or: "the ghost town"
The Pharmacy Checkpoint: A sign of life here for a change, the boys are playing on their way into school and laughing and smiling at us. At the checkpoint an angry man in dark glasses and an elegant suit is waiting by a car for something. It turns out he is a local Israeli whose car broke down last night and is still waiting for repairs. The checking of the school children's bags is spasmodic and, of course, arbitrary. As we wait, a soldier, bristling like a porcupine with equipment comes up to us with a winning smile and asks who, what and why. He has never heard of MachsomWatch but is very interested. He assures us that all is quiet, all is well. And then blurts out that actually there was a small local incident that morning. A very violent demonstration – slogans, flags, shouts, stones. Settlers? we ask. No, on the contrary, he replies. Locals. Was anyone injured? No. Well, there were some bruises and blows.
Nothing serious. it shouldn't happen though. We concur.
On a lighter note, a member of the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) comes over and asks about red-headed Tamar whom he hasn't seen for some time and please to give her regards from Alwin…
Tel Rumeida, Beit Hadassah
Dead. We saw 3 Palestinians walking, inveitably, and several settler children waiting for their transportation to school, that's it.
The Patriarchs' Cave and Worshippers Route (Tsir Hamitpalelim): The sqare is empty, Gutnick is silent and one of the windows has a sign 'To Let'. Should be a bargain. On the steps we encounter a group of Hassidim escorting their Rebbe to pray at the spot which in the bad/good old days marked the closest point where Jews were permitted to enter.
The lane going up towards Kiryat Arba is deserted. The temporary blockades erected at Pesach are still there, presumably their due date has not yet arrived. We even spot what seems to be a new one, or maybe we just didn't notice it before. At the top end of the lane, on the left, there is a military vehicle and several soliders close to the blockade at the end of the main road.
On the return journey there are two rolling checkpoints one at the entrance to Bani Naim and the other just a hundred meters or so along the road. Safety in numbers?
At the entrance to Route 60, another military vehicle and soldiers are stationed who were not there when we arrived.
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
Lea ShakdielMay-27-2025Hebron, settlers vandalized the sign of the girls' school
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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 BeckerDec-14-2025A World Food Program (WFP) sticker at the entrance to a grocery store in Tuwani
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