Rahwe - violent raids by soldiers
In Rahwe, which is not far from the Meitar checkpoint, and above it the settlement of Tena Omarim, has several families who are not related to each other. This time we are visiting two families, both of whom contacted us and asked us to come.
It is important to mention that the checkpoint to Dahariya, the city where commerce, education and health services, and garages are concentrated, has been closed for about 3 weeks. It is a checkpoint through which only trucks travel to and from the quarry. This situation separates families, preventing children from reaching school, the doctor, and purchasing food and water.
We pass through Hura to purchase food for each family. A family has elderly parents, several brothers with their wives and children. The first family we visited has 5 brothers, some of whom live in Dahariya. Together they have about 20 children.
We met Majdi, a teacher at a school in Dahariya, who is unemployed because of not having a permit to pass the checkpoint. He has not had an income (from the Palestinian Authority) for a long time because the schools are not open. He says, “We go to check if the checkpoint is open every day, but we return home disappointed”.
His brother Jawad herds the sheep shared by all 5 brothers, and as we know from our visits to the villages, here too they are restricted in grazing by the settlers, even though the area that belongs to them is large.
They say that two settlers, one from the Tene Omarim settlement, and the other from Shabtai Farm (reminds us of the 2 nearby farms, Shabtai and Aviad, which received thousands of dunams from the State of Israel to control the surrounding areas) arrive, do a “I am the one in control” round, shout at them to go live in Dahariya, and drive away.
About 3 weeks ago, on a Friday at midnight, a bus with soldiers arrived at their area. The soldiers raided their homes, threw the contents of the cupboards on the floor, took their cell phones, did not allow them to turn on the lights, did not say a word to them.
They completed their mission. They returned their phones and left.
This is what a Friday is for: a very important mission to teach young soldiers how to scare small children, frighten them and then leave.
We left them clothes and the food we bought, which made them very happy.
We continued to the Abu Sharakh family, which is located a few hundred meters from the two farms I mentioned and often suffers from violence and abuse from their residents.
Dunya, a Bedouin from Hura who is married to Samer, called me and asked us to come and hear what they had experienced again. We are sitting next to a tent that serves as a kitchen, and they say that a week ago at noon, two settlers from Shabtai’s farm arrived accompanied by soldiers who they thought were also settlers, and raided the family’s living quarters and kitchen. Here too, they took clothes and food out of the closets and threw them on the floor. When it got dark, they threw light bombs that they said burned water pipes.
No work, no school, no food, no water, there are small children who are scared.
There is Jewish terrorism sponsored by the State of Israel and the army.
Here too, we left the food we bought and the clothes. It is increasingly difficult to see this evil.
The two families did not file a police complaint because they understood that there was no point in doing so.
Location Description
Meitar checkpoint / Sansana
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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
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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
Daphna JungMar-16-2025Simia: Farhan and his wife
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