Hebron, South Hebron Hills
Grey, rainy and very cold. The entrance to Deir Razih is blocked. The entrance is exactly on road 60.
N. our friend who lives there asks us if we can help them to meet with the Israeli representatives and find out what is the reason for this and if it is possible to open the closure at last. They are now forced to take a very roundabout and long route so as to join up with the traffic lane. We discussed this with Hanna Barag and told N. what she advised.
Besides that all the other entrances along road 60 are open.
At the crossroads of Dura- Al Fawwar there is a strong army presence and masked snipers. They stand with their arms drawn also in our direction.
Someone summoned them because children are throwing stones on the road. They have been waiting there for a long time for something to happen. They watch and photograph us and we photograph them and we do not disturb one another. On our way back from Hebron all is quiet and there is no activity.
Hebron looks like a ghost town. Most of those on the streets are soldiers of the parachute division and also border police who are in every corner.
It is freezing cold, the cold before the snow and this influences all except those who guard Israel.
At the ascent to Tel Rumeida this is how it looks.
On our way back at the entrance to Deir Razih a woman who looks as if she is after hospitalization alights and walks with difficulty with those accompanying her supporting her and carrying belongings and trying to get past cluster of dirt and stones. They are trying to get to the car which is waiting to take her home.
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
Leah ShakdielApr-8-2025Hebron: A sign advertising a tempting real estate
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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
Yael ZoranMay-22-2025The bumpy road to Ata's house
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