Rahwa: With no demolition order, everything was destroyed six weeks ago
This time the shift was dedicated to a place named Rahwa, if you can call a pile of rubble, tin shacks and a cave dwelling a place.
First, as with all visits since 7.10, we were at the supermarket in Hura and bought groceries thanks to your donations for the family of 20 people. The owner of this supermarket is extremely generous and always donates extra groceries for us. At the vegetable store they always respond to our requests as well, and add vegetables and fruits that are always available as you know.
Rahwa
The Abu Sharh family lives in the valley at the foot of the Mitzpe Eshtamoa outpost. Next to it, to their east is the Mor farm, (the settler’s name is Shabtai) which was built in recent years, and to their northwest and the old settlement of Tene Omarim.
As a general rule, you drive fifteen minutes from the Meitar checkpoint and then manage to maneuver on to a bumpy “non-road” thanks to the 4×4. We ascended along the ruins and went a little up the hill where they settled in the cave and the shacks after the destruction that was done to them on 6.6.
Ibthisam (smile), the often smiling grandmother and her husband welcome us. Her daughter in law, who luckily has an Israeli identity card, went with the babies to get vaccinations and other errands in Rahat (a Beduin town near Beer Sheva). She was the one who called and asked us to come because they are in a dire situation.
Ibtisam says that 4 months ago the IDF came and said, without presenting a demolition order, that it must to be demolished. A month and a half ago they came and destroyed everything. Even the Samneh (homemade ghee) in the big bucket was spilled and all the groceries that Samdar had brought them two days before were destroyed. A purse that had 2000 NIS in it. H was found discarded and empty. She says there were also two female soldiers. One agreed to her request not to spill the Samneh and Labne, then the second female soldier came, roughly pulling her by the hand as she spilled everything. She also added: “Go to Dahariya” and also added rude words in Arabic that had long since been used by Israelis.
So now there are about 20 people living in the cave. There is another shower tin shack and a relatively pleasant toilet that was donated at the time by Rose the famous Englishwoman who founded the weaving group in Lakiya when she was married to a Bedouin. Rose has long since left, but her donation is still used by the Abu Sharh family. It is lucky that these were not destroyed. It is important to add that the stream called Nahal Beer Sheva flows nearby with ghastly colors and a stench that is hard to bear. No authority takes care of it, and this is where they live and that is the air they breathe.
In the attached photos you can see where they are and how they live.
As we left there, I received a call from Tawfiq from Khursa, the village in the heart of which a pillbox was established that monitors the road to the two settlements, Negohot A and B. We’ve written about it quite a bit.
But Tawfiq was shaken: “Okay, we’ve gotten used to life with surprise roadblocks and all that implies, and the presence of soldiers in the heart of the village. But now there are soldiers and reservists from a unit, and they behave violently and threaten all the time and conduct searches all the time in a more serious way than it was until now. “One of our people was injured and taken to the hospital,” he says, and adds: “And we, whose shops are located along this road and next to the pillbox, stay close to guard them even though there is no business, because we are simply afraid to leave them only with our young people.”
He further describes a worsening of the authorities’ behavior towards them, as the settlers’ lives and routine of the traveling back and forth there remain as they were.
I promise Tawfiq we will come next Tuesday.
Location Description
Meitar checkpoint / Sansana
See all reports for this place-
Meitar Checkpoint / Sansana The checkpoint is located on the Green Line and serves as a border crossing between Israel and the West Bank. It is managed by the Border Crossing Authority of the Defense Ministry. It is comprised of sections for the transfer of goods as well as a vehicle checkpoint (intended for holders of blue identity cards, foreign nationals or diplomats and international organizations). Passing of Palestinians is prohibited, except for those with entry permits to Israel. Palestinians are permitted to cross on foot only. The crossing has a DCO / DCL / DCL / DCL (District Coordination Office), a customs unit, supervision, and a police unit. In the last year, a breach has been opened in the fence, not far from the crossing. This breach is known to all, including the army. There does not appear to be any interest in blocking it, probably as it permits needed Palestinian workers without the bureaucratic permits to get to work in Israel. Food stalls and a parking area economy have been created, but incidents of violent abuse by border police have also been recorded. Updated April 2022
-
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
Muhammad D.May-13-2025Susiya - at Ahmad and Halima Nawaja'a
-
