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Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Thu 30.4.09, Morning

Observers: Tzipi Z., Noga (visitor), and Na'ama (reporting)
Apr-30-2009
| Morning

Sansana-meytar CP:

06:40: The Palestinians are already sitted on the Israeli side, waiting for their shuttles. The checking lane is empty. Trucks on both sides of the border.

Normally, I sit at the front of the van, but today I sat in the backseat and could notice many small road blocks which are normally left unnoted in our reports. We tend to report of the large barriers and barrages at the entry to cities, which are normally open. But in fact the entrances to small villages, whose named we don't even know (and of course, are never mentioned on any signpost along the road) are almost always blocked. Normally we don't report of those blockages in our reports so a reader who is not familiar with what actually happens on the ground might think that things are not really so bad.


Road 60

Simiya and Samoa: still blocked.

Dhahriya: blocked.

Dura Alfawwar: open.

Sheep's Junction: open.


Hebron

We meet Michael, Tzipi's son. He claims that the paratroopers are nice and more civil towards the local population than the Give'ati soldiers who left a month ago.

Pharmacy CP: all go through quickly.

Shouhada St.: two TIPH volunteers.

Tarpat CP: people go through quickly.

Tel Rumeida: as we approach the place we see a soldier and an officer instruct a man who is passing through the cp to raise his shirt up. We approach and the soldier asks who we are. From this moment until we leave the place, people are examined in a less humiliating manner and are not asked to raise their shirts up.

At the CP itself, there's one detainee. He was there when we arrived, but we don't know since when. The soldier looks through his ID and lets him go immediately. It seems he was randomly detained, because the soldiers check nothing besides his ID.

The two check people at the CP randomly. I asked the soldier who and how they decide who to check and, after hesitantly looking at the officer, his commander, who seems unhappy about our talk, he answers that they do, indeed, choose randomly – men, women, and sometime also children (he remarks that children, too, are sent on terrorist assignments).


The Palestinian flag, which flew over one of the houses here for months, is now gone. The grocery, which is usually open at these hours, is now shut.


My feeling is that, contrary to Michael's view, the paratroopers are harder on the local civilian population than Give'ati soldiers were.

  • 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 - יוסרי ג'אבר וחלק ממשפחתו
      Raya Yeor
      Dec-18-2025
      Hebron - Yusri Jaber and part of his family
  • 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

       

       

      דגלי ישראל חדשים שהונחו לאורך קילומטרים על כביש 317 להוכיח מי הריבון
      Smadar Becker
      Apr-10-2026
      New Israeli flags placed for miles on Highway 317 to prove who is sovereign
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