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Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Wed 22.4.09, Morning

Observers: Ya'el & Na'ama (reporting)
Apr-22-2009
| Morning

Sansana-Meitar CP:
06:50 The checking lane is empty. Everyone is already on the Israeli side.


Highway 60

Durah Alfawwar: open. Numerous cabs are waiting along the roads beside the CP. A military jeep is parked some 50 metres away from the CP. The two soldiers standing by it don't seem to take any interest in the people crossing. 
Sheep's Junction: open.
At the entrance to Kiryat Arba, a military jeep with two soldiers is parked.


Hebron
The House of Dispute: military jeep with four soldiers inside is parked there. the soldiers seem busy conversing amongest themselves. 
Pharmacy CP: the CP's area is noticeably (and impressively) clean. Everyone crosses over very quickly.
Tarpat CP: two TIPH volunteers are observing.

Paratroopers have taken over from Giv'ati throughout Hebron. The soldiers walk about the town with their red berets on.
Tel Rumeida: we meet a soldier and an officer and inquire about the soldiers' head cover, following which we have a very relaxed and pleasant conversation with the two.
The officer explains that it is important for them to appear representative while positioned here, as they work with a civilian population (Israeli and Palestinian) and int'l aid agencies. They have been in Hebron for a month already, he says, and they inspect neither the very young (under 16s) nor the elderly at the CP. He adds that they have come to know the people who walk trhough and so, will not check them all either. He feels bound to explain the necessity of inspection to us and tells us that a few days ago knives and Molotov cocktails were found in a house in the vicinity. He stresses that he does not check children although only three months ago, when in Gaza, he's evidenced children carrying knives. Yael smilingly remarks that, in Hebron he'd better watch out for the settlers' children, rather than the Palestinian ones. But he says that the settlers are very kind to the soldiers – invited them for the holidays, fed them, etc. As to their children, he smilingly comments that they are "little criminals". He doesn't seem to have any real reservations with regard to their carrying on, but perhaps he has not yet encountered it at its worst. "Anyway", he wishes to put our minds at rest "our company commander grew up here, so he understands the way the adults and children here tick". We were not relieved, to say the least… in fact, quite the contrary.
Sussiya: a military jeep is parked along the road.
On our way back to Meitar, we see still more of them (IDF jeeps).

  • 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

    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

       

       

      סמדר עם טאלב במשמרת בקוואוויס
      Muhammad D.
      Jul-12-2026
      Smadar with Taleb on duty at Qawawis
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