Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills
A tour of kindergartents in the Hebron hills with the opening of the school year
Purpose of the shift: clarification of the needs of the kindergarten in A-Tuwani, and meeting with Huda and Haula in the kindergarten in Hashim el Daraj.
Yom Kippur eve – closure of arrivals to Israel. The parking lot at the Meitar checkpoint is empty. They warn that the checkpoint will closed at 1:30.
We went to the kindergarten in A-Tuwani. We met a kindergarten teacher we did not know, Suad, whom the village council has hired. They pay her salary. Suad is from Yatta and has learned to be a Kindergarten teacher (we did not ask where, when, how long). The kindergarten has about fifteen children, most of them aged five. Some are a little younger. The garden looked good, but is rather empty. Suad seems to be trying to put content into the teaching of the children but there is insufficient money and equipment. The village only provides the salary. Sometimes she is assisted by the school in the village. We agreed to try to help to supply garden equipment, and will also try to organize activities. There is also a water problem which is not clear to us. There is a container on the roof but it is empty. We will try to find out from the villagers why this is so.
We continued to Hashim-el-Daraj. We met Huda and Hula. The children had already left when we arrived.
The kindergarten started late, because the village school used the garden area for its needs In previous weeks. In the meantime, about thirty children are coming to the kindergarten. Sometimes more. We spoke of training options for the kindergarten teachers of Hashim-el-Daraj. In the meantime they did not receive the previous month’s salary and the and the one before it. Hamed, from the village group, is responsible for the implementation of he actual payment. We hope that we will be able to raise donations for this year’s salaries. We agreed on starting activities this week.
On the way back, we stopped at Umm al-Kheir. Aziz wants to open the garden again. But we did not find him in the village.
We will also try to talk to him.
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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