Hebron, South Hebron Hills
South Hebron Hills
We took Highway 317 to Zif junction to collect the lists of children participating in Beach Days in Tel Aviv [http://minelbahar.com/119-2/]. We finished the necessary coordination. The children will have a good time this year also. Once again we have to thank Tzvia andRachel. The road is quiet; no unusual activity or military presence.
Hebron
Beit HaMeriva – which the settlers call Beit HaShalom (House of peace) – flies a large flag and has a huge poster of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Three families live there, but it looks like a regular IDF base. The large checkpoint is closed, of course, vehicle traffic restricted and supervised, nor are pedestrians able to pass freely. I wonder what people will do who must reach the adjoining cemetery.
Many local and foreign tourists around the Cave of the Patriarchs, and also a large group of air force personnel on a guided tour.
The Border Police soldiers are polite today.
New posters hang on the fences blocking the wholesale market. The amount of text posted on every tree and every wall makes the new visitor stop frequently to “enjoy” the flood of announcements and information washing over them. A traffic jam has formed on Shuhada Street, next to the steps opposite Beit Hadassah, because some settlers are standing in the middle of the road speaking with someone in a car – what do the lords of the land care if they’re blocking cars behind them? The usual symbiotic relationship with the soldiers continues, of course.
There were no detainees at any checkpoint even though it’s the hour children return from school.
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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