Hebron, South Hebron Hills, Tue 8.2.11, Morning
Translation: Bracha B.A.
Meitar Crossing
It is 06:45 and cold outside. The workers have already crossed to the Israeli side and there are a few prisoners' families waiting under the shed. When we returned, there were two busses and several cars waiting to be checked. We didn't see any dogs today (see 07.02.11 report).
Route 60
Thanks to the grim weather, the presence of the army is hardly visible. Soldiers are not outside hence do not set up temporary roadblocks nor emerge from their pillboxes other than under Beit Hagai near the southern entrance to Hebron, where a jeep is standing. What are they guarding and what are they trying to prevent?
We fail to understand the logic behind the occupation. At the Sheep Junction the market is running as usual without any interference. School break is over and children are walking along the roadside to school. It makes us tense to watch them with the vehicles speeding by. The almond trees blossom and green hills offer a false sense of pastoral calm.
At the entrance to Kiryat Arba there are a lot of people waiting at the junction. It appears that the entrance to Kiryat Arba construction is almost complete and there will be an elaborate promenade there. We did not see anything out of the ordinary regarding the arrest of Rabbi Leor.
Hebron
Soldiers from the Tzabar battalion of the Givati Brigade man all checkpoints but check no one. The soldiers at the checkpoint near the Patriarchs' Tombs' Cave, on the other hand, are all from the Border Police and are a different story altogether.
We saw two detainees waiting, so we waited as well. We waited and waited while the soldiers amused themselves playing a game with their rifle with some settler children.
Representatives from other peace organizations were also present there, so we left. On our way back, however, the detainees were still there, so I asked one of the soldiers why they are being held for over 20 min. (as they are not allowed to be by current regulations).
"What's that to you?" asks the soldier.
I answer that it's of great consequence to me as I am an Israeli citizen just like him and I care about what's done in my name to other people.
"Yalla, yalla, get out of here. And tell your driver to beat it too!" his friend then adding "What are you doing here anyway?"
The detainees thank us for intervening, but we realize that our continued presence there might only worsen matters for them, so we leave.
That's Hebron and that's the occupation. They don't contribute anything except hate and violence.
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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