Hebron, South Hebron Hills, Wed 12.1.11, Morning
Translation: Bracha B.A.
Hebron
There was no problem entering Kiryat Arba today. The wide entryway is being completed. In Hebron we asked the children in the street why they were not in school, and they told us they had an exam which they finished and so, could leave early.
At Curve 160, the Pharmacy checkpoint, and Tarpat checkpoint, all was quiet and there are only a few soldiers, but we saw no people being detained or checked. Soldiers from Givati are in the city and appear inexperienced and tense.
At Tel Romeida there's a lone soldier. He is not very friendly but talks to us nevertheless. He says we should go and protect the children in Sderot, and that after his army service he plans to come live here.
At Abed's we found Yehuda from "Shovrim Shtika" (literally: "Breaking the Silence": Israeli veterans organization) who has brought a photographer and reporter from Y-Net along. They interview Raya and ask her about our activities here.
We encountered the cars of Ofer Ohana and Anat Cohen, who deliberately almost collide with ours.
Tarquomiya
We learnt that the young man at the grocery store at the entrance to Tarquomiya is active in the Jewish-Palestinian Forum for Bereaved Families, and he promises to bring in stickers like the ones we see in the store.
It is a quiet day in the occupied territories.
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
Lea ShakdielMay-27-2025Hebron, settlers vandalized the sign of the girls' school
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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
Michal TsadikDec-23-2025Wadi Shahish - The family car vandalized by settlers
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