Hebron, South Hebron Hills, Tue 4.10.11, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
06:30-09:30
Hebron
Cave of the Patriarchs: Jewish exception day
We hear this phrase once more. After Goldstein’s massacre, visiting days were set according to the holidays of both peoples on which there is complete separation at the Cave of the Patriarchs, and only members of one of the groups are allowed there. So yesterday, during Slichot, was such a day. Because large numbers of worshippers, who had already begun arriving in buses from the Southern Hebron Hills, were expected, Regional Council, this is what the city looked like:
Soldiers are stationed every 50 meters along the Tzion route, up to the Cave of the Patriarchs. Soldiers also stand at every corner along the Worshippers route. Soldiers and Israeli flags scattered on the rooftops in the area of the Pharmacy checkpoint. They’re also 50 meters apart all along Shuhada street. Border Police soldiers at the Pharmacy checkpoint told us that nobody may cross there except the schoolchildren. The route from Shuhada to the Cave of the Patriarchs is also closed off.
The paratroopers at the roadblock dividing area H1 from area H2, at the end of the Tzion route, between the Kapisha neighborhood and Giv’at HaHarsina have moved to the Palestinian side (why?) and are detaining people and checking their IDs. Only the God of IDF wisdom knows why. The locals say it happens every time; their lives are blocked so the people of Israel may ask forgiveness or pray safely and happily. With their backs turned and hearts sealed. I wonder how the “Muslim exception day” is implemented. It’s worth coming to see. Netanya, who left us and returned to Jerusalem, reported that on Highway 60, near the location of last week’s attack, she saw armed settlers, men and women, walking with soldiers along the road, chasing away Palestinians.
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 BeckerJan-12-2026A herd of cows in the area of Zanuta, from which its residents were expelled, accompanied by a settler on horseback
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