Sansana (Meitar Crossing), Susiya, Tue 24.7.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
Meitar crossing
Empty and clean, the laborers crossed long ago, no buses with relatives of prisoners.
Susiya
Nasser calls from Susiya, summoning us; we spend the remainder of our shift there.
The village is empty; a woman tells us we might find the men at the edge of the hill, under the trees. Some were there, the rest had come down from the hill and walked along the path in the wadi to the southernmost hill, opposite the Jewish settlement of Susiya. A number of vehicles were gathered there: two from the army, one from the police and one of journalists, together with a large group of settlers and residents of the nearby villages.
It turned out that for the past two days settlers have been laying a water pipe from Susia to the top of the hill, which is definitely not included in the area of the settlement – it’s on the other side of the Sabbath boundary – and they’re fencing an area, apparently in order to cultivate it. The Bedouin claim the land belongs to them; there are, in fact, new plantings of olive trees. From the hill on which we’re standing we can hear only muffled sounds and can see the different groups moving around. Sometimes the soldiers separate the groups, sometimes they bring them all together. We left after being unable to figure out what was going to happen. It was clear that the incident would continue for a long time.
On the way back we stopped at the grocery in Zif to make sure everything there was still alright. We bought vegetables and went home.
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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Susiya
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Susiya The Palestinian area lies between the settlement of Susya and a military base. The residents began to settle in areas outside the villages in the 1830s and lived in caves, tents and sukkot. To this day they maintain a traditional lifestyle and their livelihood is based on agriculture and herding. Until the 1948 war, the farmers cultivated areas that extended to the Arad area. As a result of the war, a significant portion of their land left on the Israeli side was lost. After the 1967 war and the Israeli occupation, military camps were established in the area, fire zones and nature reserves were declared, and the land area was further reduced. The Jewish settlement in Susya began in 1979. Since then, there has been a stubborn struggle to remove the remains of Palestinian residents who refuse to leave their place of birth and move to nearby town Yatta. With the development of a tourist site in Khirbet Susya in the late 1980s (an ancient synagogue), dozens of families living in caves in its vicinity were deported. In the second half of the 1990s, a new form of settlement developed in the area - shepherds' farms of individual settlers. This phenomenon increased the tension between the settlers and the original, Palestinian residents, and led to repeated harassment of the residents of the farms towards the Palestinians. At the same time, demolition of buildings and crop destruction by security forces continued, as well as water and electricity prevention. In the Palestinian Susya, as in a large part of the villages of the southern Hebron Mountains, there is no running water, but the water pipe that supplies water to the Susya Jewish settlement passes through it. Palestinians have to buy expensive water that comes in tankers. Solar electricity is provided by a collector system, installed with donation funds. But the frequent demolitions in the villages do not spare water cisterns or the solar panels and power poles designed to transfer solar electricity between the villages. Updated April 2021, Anat T.
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