Mufakara - coordination between soldiers and settlers
Michal Tsadik and Muhammad; Translator: Natanya
Umfakara in Masafar Yatta
Although the area is well known to us, it was important for me to understand exactly what the size of the area to be evacuated is.
On Saturday there was a violent demonstration as the settlers attacked the demonstrators. The army blocked and made it difficult to access the area. Tear gas grenades were thrown at the demonstrators including the MachsomWatch members who took part in the demonstration.
From Umfakara you can see Mitzpe Abigail on the left. Opposite the valley, At-tuwani, next to A-Rakiz and above them on the hill, Havat Maon. To the right is Khalat ad-Daba’, and behind us, west of Mitzpe Yair.
In other words, the area is full of small Palestinian villages, and in recent years the settlers have clung to them, in illegal and violent outposts which make life miserable for the Palestinians. They harass the shepherds and their flocks; they make movement difficult and do not allow them to come to cultivate their fields and vineyards.
Fadel recounts their difficult lives in recent months. Days before we arrived, the police were called by the settlers. The policemen arrived, opened a computer, looked at their maps and told him that the area was really his, and he could not be deported. When the policemen left, the soldiers and settlers arrived. Then he went home, and they went too.
Fadel’s story: I have 40 acres of wheat and pasture fields for sheep. I can not reach my fields. I am only allowed to reach a tanker stationed by the army. If I pass it, the settlers will come and drive me away. A caravan has been set up for soldiers, a kilometer from my house, and this is the border.
He said there is one female soldier who behaves worse, more violently, loudly and nervously than the settlers. She really tried to catch him physically, threatened him with her weapon and shouted at him. There are 5 female soldiers here, he says, and they usually stand at the side. Only one is very aggressive. She also shouted at the children, and wanted to expel them from the pasture.
He turned to her and asked why she was shouting at the children. She replied: Get out of here, this is a closed military area. He asked her to see the written order. So they showed him something on the computer in Hebrew, which he does not read. No paper in the language that he could read was presented to him.
Another story: One day they brought a dog and set it on the sheep. And the soldiers? Did nothing of course.
And even when the soldiers do act, they expel him. A few days ago, when it happened, he ran and fell, breaking 2 ribs. The doctor said it would heal on its own, over time, but in the meantime he was in pain.
At-Tuwani
We met Ali Awad from Umm Tuba and with him were people from Germany. They say they came to coordinate a tour of representatives from the Social Democratic Party. The tour is planned in a few days. We will try to coordinate and join.
Ali Awad says that the situation is very tense and difficult. Because of the transfer threats hanging over Ali, the settlers increasingly dare to abuse anyone whom they can.
A-Tuwani
See all reports for this place-
A-Tuwani
The locals came to a-Tuwani during the 20th century from the village of Yatta. They settled in abandoned ruins, utilizing the arable land, pastures for grazing sheep and the abundance of natural caves for habitation. The residents who settled in the caves came from families who could not purchase land for houses in the mother villages, as well as shepherds who did not have enough land to graze. They were joined by clan members who quarreled with other families in the mother locality.
Some of the residents today live in concrete buildings built above the caves. In the area of the village are several water cisterns and an ancient water well called 'Ein a-Tuwani. Local residents are forced to buy water in containers and transport them through many road blocks to the village. With the help of international organizations, an electrical system was installed in the village. In the late 90s of the 20tTh century, an elementary school was established in the serving several small villages in the area.
In 2004, MachsomWatch began visiting and reporting from the Khirbet Tuwani cave village, which suffers badly from the settlers of nearby outposts, and especially from the extremist Ma'on outpost. . The settlers contaminate cisterns, poison the flocks and uproot trees.Particularly notable is the harassment of children from the surrounding villages on their way to school in a-Tuwani, so much so that military escort of children is required to separate them from the attackers (this was arranged following an initiative of the organization's members). In the past year, the escort has been without the vital presence of overseas volunteers.
Near a-Tuwani there are several families who have returned to the caves due to the incessant demolitions of the civil administration (as there is a total construction ban in all of area C). Destroyed are not only residential and agricultural buildings, but also water pipes, machinery. Even water cisterns are clogged up. a-Tuwani residents have created an association for non-violent demolition protests, but in the past year the army’s harsh harassment and settler violence have intensified and escalated. The incident of the small generator confiscation, which left a young man paralyzed, is one of many examples - any legitimate protection of property rights leads to violence and even shootings by the army and the civil administration.
Updated April 2022
Smadar BeckerDec-14-2025A World Food Program (WFP) sticker at the entrance to a grocery store in Tuwani
-
Mesafer Yatta
See all reports for this place-
This is happening in Fire Area 918 in the South Hebron Hills
On the eve of Remembrance Day (the day before Israel Independence Day), 4th May, 2022, the Israeli High Court decided on the transfer and expulsion of residents from 8 Palestinian communities in the area of Masafar Yata in the South Hebron Hills. Residents of the villages have been living under the threat of demolition, evacuation and expropriation since the IDF issued evacuation orders in 1999 based on the 1980s proclamation of their area of residence as a firing zone for IDF drills. None of the nearby settlements were included in this zone. The Masafer Yata Palestinian villages retain a special lifestyle and ancient agricultural culture. They also posess a clear historical documentation that testifies to a Palestinian settlement in this area, generations before the establishment of Israel, long ago in the caves and at later times outside them.
Evacuating residents from the area means destroying these historic villages and leaving entire families (about 2,000 people, children, adults, and the elderly) homeless. This is contrary to international law.
In June 2022, a firing drill started, and life became harder.
-
South Hebron Hills
See all reports for this place-
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 BeckerDec-14-2025A World Food Program (WFP) sticker at the entrance to a grocery store in Tuwani
-