Masafer Yatta: They kill them softl
Once again we devoted most of our shift to visiting Fadel’s family in Mufaqara. To bring basic groceries and flour to the families. They are currently not permitted to travel to run errands, shop, graze their flocks, or go to school and have to remain near their homes. Mohammed heard from local residents that they are not permitted to drive anywhere from the Meitarim Regional Council to Carmel Umm al Khair. This is the area most densely populated by the settlers in the South Hebron Hills, and that is evidently how they protect them.
The traffic was very sparse on Route, 60 and on Route 317 there was even less traffic.
We arrived at Mufaqara and encountered a shelter made of tent material and tires that had been demolished. Evidently the local residents had erected the shelter to monitor the patrols conducted by the settlers. The District Coordination and Liaison Office claimed “You built without a permit” so they demolished it. Criminal acts are permitted here only to the “masters of the land”.
Fadel explained that he is continuing to patrol every hour or two each night and now the situation has improved. I asked: “How has it improved? “ Fadel explained that the settlers are no longer permitted to approach them and only the army comes near, and the soldiers behave better. Fadel is satisfied.
We unloaded the items we had brought and the children were pleased to eat “Crembo” chocolate marshmallow treats.
Hibah, Fadel’s daughter lives in an apartment that is 20 minutes away during normal times, came to visit her parents with her children a week ago. Her husband was able to drive her as far as ,Tawani, but when the army arrived he fled. Her parents somehow managed to bring her from Tawani, which is 5 kilometers away along winding roads. She will have to return home but how will she be able to? There is a section of road on which they are not permitted to drive. This is apartheid in all senses of the word, and the bags of flour that we brought are stuck in the shed where the sheep are held. They asked for us to help. We took Hiba and her children home and we loaded up the sacks of flour and took them to Mufkara.
It is impossible to visit the grandparents or to bring groceries. They are dependent upon other people.
We need to imagine ourselves in their position.
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
Muhammad D.May-13-2025Susiya - at Ahmad and Halima Nawaja'a
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