Hebron, South Hebron Hills, Wed 22.6.11, Afternoon
Shachar (Guest student)
Translation: Bracha B.A.
10.30 – 13.30
Tarquomiya
Tarquomiya crossing appears quiet without a lot of traffic.
Hebron
There is not a lot happening on Route 35. At the entrance to Hebron the settlement of Avihai still has six buildings, and the builder is on the roof of one of them. There is a lot of graffiti at Curve 160. There are seven detainees at the Cave of the Patriarchs, and the soldiers from the border patrol claim that checks take five to ten minutes. They ask us to move away from their position. We had tea at Abed's store and noted that fifteen minutes had already passed. Finally a jeep from the border patrol arrived and the detainees were released. At Beit Guttnick the music is still playing, but at a reasonable volume. A day camp with about 50 children passes by and Japanese television photographers are filming a movie about Hebron and the conflict. (We were invited to Abed's 19-year-old son's wedding.)
Shuhada Street is empty, and there are only two TIP people there. At Tel Romeida there are two soldiers from the Kfir Brigade who talk with us courteously- a big improvement after the soldier we met here on our last visit.
A bus arrives from the "Mount Hebron Development Company." It is carrying American religious tourists returning from a visit to the neighborhood above us. There are a lot of settlers' cars here today. Soldiers are on a foot patrol on the road leading up from the cemetery. Bassem was not in his store today, so we continued to Azam's metal shop and bought pita, labaneh, and other groceries.
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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