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Hebron, Sansana, South Hebron Hills, Wed 24.12.08, Morning

Observers: Zipi Z. Michal Z. (reporting)
Dec-24-2008
| Morning

Sansana
6:45 the CP is already empty: either no workers arrived here today or they've all passed through smoothely already. The trucks, too, are already past the CP — the CP must have opened early for them.


Road No. 60

Cold, wet and deserted. Only children walk to school along the sideways. Would any of us tolerate having our children walk this way?!
All blockages are in place.

Dura El Fawar: open, pillbox is manned.
Sheeps' Junction: open, pillbox is manned.

Hebron:
Immediately upon entering Hebron, past the yellow gate and opposite the Hazon David ma'achaz (Hebrew for: illegal/unauthorized settlement) serving as a synagogue, there is a security-jeep, one of many military vehicles, positioned on every turn in Hebron. All around the House of Dispute, curly wires strewn, military vehicles and many soldiers – one wonders how long it will stay closed.

A Jeep stands at the entry to the Prayers' Route as well; on every corner, a military jeep.

Pharmacy CP
: empty. The soldiers, too, take shelter from the rain and the cold; the children pass through uninterrupted.


Tarpat and Tel-Rumeida CPs
: The children pass through uninterrupted. We watched and noticed that they are not asked to stand behind the red line, as was the habit with the Golani soldiers. It is difficult to suppress the feeling that such habits reflected the 'over-motivatation' of that brigade, rather than any real, objective needs.

We encountered some policemen and were welcomed by them, uninterrupted in our shift. The cold seems to have chilled everyone, and there's less excitement in the air, only the Hebron despair.
Thanks to the Chanuka miracle, neither the settlers nor their children could be seen and our presence there was much more bearable.


Beit-Anun, Shayuch–Hebron
: There are lots of children on the road, crossing it at great risk — there's no pedestrian crossing, and obviously, no bridge for the Palestinians' children either. We had this idea, of marking a crossing by ourselves — we might still do so… 

Roads 356 and 317:
Making our way back, everything seems deserted: even the grocery at the Zif Junction, where we normally make our shopping, has no goods today: the depressing routine of the Occupation all over again.

  • 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

       

       

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