Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills
Meitar crossing
When we cross there are still laborers on the Israeli side of the checkpoint who hadn’t gone to work, apparently because of the storm – people aren’t working. The parking lot on the Palestinian side isn’t very crowded, the sellers at the stands say the road to Dahariya is open, but it’s very hard to drive in Dahariya and on Highway 60.
Dura-Al Fawwar junction
Accessible only with difficulty. There are two army jeeps at the checkpoint.
A sign in Hebrew on Highway 60, on the north side of the Meitar crossing, displays the hours the checkpoint is open and phone numbers. The Carmel settlement is also advertising: “Simply human.”
There’s snow on both sides of the road. Below Imanzil village we meet four guys with a tractor, a water tanker and a pump – they’re filling water tanks.
We met N. at Sussiya. There’s no school today; the children play outside. The women take advantage of the sun to do laundry. A wood stove helps against the cold. All the cisterns have filled – a small consolation.
We meet F. from Umm Faqra on the way down to the road. He’s taking his son to the clinic in Yatta. He says it’s warm in the cave.
The women in Umm el Hir are warming themselves in the sun. The men went to work.
Highway 365 is open as far as the pillbox.
An army vehicle pulls out a stuck Palestinian car. Both the soldiers and Palestinians asked us not to take photographs.
We returned home because the road farther on was too slippery and full of snow.
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
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