Hebron, South Hebron Hills, Mon 15.8.11, Afternoon
Left at 16:00
Sansana-Meitar Crossing
Workers were returning home earlier than usual due to Ramadan. They cross the border quickly. Also on the Palestinian side, there was much commotion, happiness, and joy: prisoners had been released from Israeli prisons and were greeted upon their return by women, men, children, and elderly relatives, the beating of drums and keening. The parking area was crowded with the cars of those waiting for the prisoners to return.
Several kilometers from the crossing, we saw that the army had stopped a car with a returning prisoner and his family to check their identification. We continued on route 60 which is being tarred for about a kilometer from the entrance to Yatir. This is a relatively new section of the road so it is not clear why it is being tarred. What is clear is that our taxes are paying for this road work.
Near Dura-Elfawwar there were several army vehicles on the side of the road. Soldiers were standing on both sides of the road and on the traffic island. There were also soldiers near the drinking water pool on the Elfawwar side of the road and in the fields across from the houses. They all had their guns drawn. We got down from the van to ask what was going down. We didn’t get a clear answer, just a smile, a wave of a hand, and something about youngsters throwing stones over there. On the road itself, traffic was flowing freely.
Hebron
Quiet. It was the hour that preparations were beginning for the meal to break the Ramadan fast (yesterday a local salesperson told me that they eat at 3:30 in the morning and then sleep until 13:00). While walking along Shuhda Street, we looked in the direction of Hadassah House and at the entry, could see two young children in bathing suits playing in a big plastic pool filled with water that ran over the sides of the pool onto the entry way. In stark contrast, across the street, if you look up beyond the barred windows to the roof, you will see the water containers that provide water to the Palestinian occupants who use it sparingly because it is so scrace..
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
Smadar BeckerApr-10-2026New Israeli flags placed for miles on Highway 317 to prove who is sovereign
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