Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills
We left from Shoket junction in order to enter and leave through the Meitar crossing. Very cloudy, almost raining.
We wanted to visit Fadl in Umm Faqra after not having been there for a long time, but he wasn’t available.
In al-Tuwani: the children run around outside. They tell us the strike is over, now there are just sanctions – that is, fewer hours of school. Juma’a wasn’t home, and the kindergarten appeared empty and closed – because of the strike or the cold weather?
At the exit from the village, opposite us, on the road to Yatta there’s a barrier around which a pickup truck detours and continues on its way.
The kindergartens in Umm-el-Kheir and Hashem al-Darj are also closed today. Huda, the kindergarten teacher, says very few children came and she sent them home. Here it’s really high up, and colder, and maybe that’s the reason (Are children in the Palestinian Authority required to attend school?).
The kindergarten in Kafr Zif was operating; only some of the children arrived here also and they were all gathered together in one room – various ages – by Amal, the kindergarten teacher and her staff. We saw an impressive and charming “performance”: the children stood on the chairs and expressed in movement the content of the songs they sang, very happily and in complete control: a song of peace and a song for mother (a small map hangs on the wall showing “Greater Palestine”).
Amal invites us to Mother’s Day celebrations on March 21. The kindergarten is located in part of her home and opened at her initiative. In the past we’d brought her materials and games. She needs additional equipment of all kinds: toys, crayons, gouache paints, poster board, blank paper… and she’ll also be glad to receive a photocopy machine and a DVD player.
On the way to Dahariyya – many barriers at village entrances; some had been dismantled by the villagers.
We didn’t come across any soldiers.
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
Yael ZoranJun-18-2026An ambulance is waiting in front of the closed checkpoint in El-Fawwar
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