Hebron, South Hebron Hills
Difficult times (Rahat, Tel Aviv…)
We spent the day talking to residents of Hebron and the surrounding area.
We stopped on Tel Rumeida at the neighborhood clinic and were invited to talk to the people seated outside in the sun: A physician who’d studied in the Ukraine for seven years (speaks Russian, German and a little English) whose mother came to Hebron in 1948 from Beit Dajan. He’d like to specialize in pediatrics at Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem.
A young woman also sits with us, a first-aid intern, speaks English very well.
There are two additional physicians in the clinic and people continue entering to be treated.
We had an interesting conversation. Our opinions and hopes were the same – to end the occupation and live in peace.
On the way to the Cave of the Patriarchs we spoke with two nice paratroopers, and at
‘Abed’s shop his son, Muhammad, approached us. He asked whether we can help remove him from the police blacklist where they placed him because he didn’t agree to be a “spy” [a collaborator]. We gave him Sylvia’s phone number.
Another conversation in a tea-and-narghila café, in Bani Na’im: a few men approached us, wanting to talk. A heart-to-heart conversation ensues, about each side’s responsibility for the conflict. One of them lives in Silwan and says the problems in Jerusalem are caused by the Druze Border Police soldiers. A second, very opinionated, says: the problem isn’t with the people but with the leaders – particularly the Israelis. We all agree about the difficulties with extremists on both sides and about our shared aspirations…
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
Raya YeorDec-18-2025Hebron - Yusri Jaber and part of his family
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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
MuhammadFeb-24-2026South Hebron Hill, Beit Hagai: Paving an internal security road
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