Hebron, South Hebron Hills
Highway 60 is quiet. The balloon floats above Beit Haggai but the gate to Hebron below the settlement is open and traffic flows. On our way back a vehicle with water cannon to disperse demonstrations passed us on its way to Hebron. But we hadn’t heard of any unusual incidents. Later, near the Cave of the Patriarchs, there are as always many buses and visitors, but neither there or at any other checkpoint were there any detainees.
Hebron in the afternoon is filled with children returning from school.
They sit on the renovated steps at Curve 160, staring at the soldiers. The soldiers stare back. TIP volunteers observe the soldiers and the children, who feel it’s safe to stand near them. Everyone’s observing everyone else, cameras above watching them all.
Settlers’ children near Beit Hadassah, on the other hand, practice wearing the soldiers’ berets.
What fun, a wonderful militaristic childhood in Hebron.
A group of religious Islamic people walk on the Zion route, heads covered in various striped scarves. Who are they, I ask Muhammad worriedly. He laughs, says they’re members of the Islamic Da’wah. They’re the best, he says, they’re not interested in politics, hate Da’ash, want to leave quietly and in peace. They believe Islam requires respect, quiet, adherence to the commandments without wars and violence. Islamic Da’wah.
That’s good to know. They, too, are in Hebron.
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
Muhammad D.May-13-2026Hebron - Request for compensation for land expropriation
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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
Muhammad D.Jul-13-2026Michal with O.
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