Sha'ab al-Butum - Muhammad cultivated a small plot of the vegetable garden destroyed by the settlers
We went to Sha’ab al Butum by Route 317 to visit Leila and Muhammad and their extended family. In the mornings they continue to try, at least, to restore their house which the settlers mercilessly destroyed, including the adjoining orchard. At night the family returns to the room they moved to after the destruction.
They say that last week 7 soldiers and a female soldier came and destroyed the roof of the new room they recently built as part of the house renovation. We sit outside with the family with us and see two settlers from the settlement Avigaiyl tens of meters from us. Muhammad Jabarin explains that they are erecting a fence that will not allow access to the outpost that was established a few months ago, right in front of their house.
Muhammad called the Kiryat Arba police to report this. They said they would come to check.
A small bright spot: Muhammad cultivated a small plot of the vegetable garden destroyed by the settlers, and planted cabbage and cauliflower in it. They didn’t let us go and insisted that we join the family for a light meal.
We continued to the family of Ibrahim Jabarin, whom we first met when his house was destroyed for the third time, to ask how he is. His daughters said that he was plowing an area that belonged to him in Dirat. We were invited to drink tea and to get to know them and the children. Ulah, Ibrahim’s daughter, says that settlers in IDF uniforms come to the pastures near Sha’ab al Butum and harass the shepherds.
Before leaving the village, we saw a number of donkeys and recognized our friend, Ishak, with his wife and some of his children riding on them. Ishak said that they returned from plowing his land. Today he was allowed to work. But another family was harassed and even had a gas grenade thown so s to get rid of them.
They hurried to return home and we continued At-Tuwani to pay a short visit to Zacariah Adra, son of Naim, brother of Nasser Adra. Zacaria was shot in his belly about 90 days ago by a settler and bad been in intensive care most of the time. A few days ago, he returned home. He cannot stand up and is in severe pain.
We expressed our concern and wished a speedy and full recovery.
The case is difficult and cruel and so is seeing his suffering. We promised to visit him again.
Sha’ab al-Butum – Muhammad cultivated a small plot of the vegetable garden destroyed by the settlers
A-Tuwani
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A-Tuwani
The locals came to a-Tuwani during the 20th century from the village of Yatta. They settled in abandoned ruins, utilizing the arable land, pastures for grazing sheep and the abundance of natural caves for habitation. The residents who settled in the caves came from families who could not purchase land for houses in the mother villages, as well as shepherds who did not have enough land to graze. They were joined by clan members who quarreled with other families in the mother locality.
Some of the residents today live in concrete buildings built above the caves. In the area of the village are several water cisterns and an ancient water well called 'Ein a-Tuwani. Local residents are forced to buy water in containers and transport them through many road blocks to the village. With the help of international organizations, an electrical system was installed in the village. In the late 90s of the 20tTh century, an elementary school was established in the serving several small villages in the area.
In 2004, MachsomWatch began visiting and reporting from the Khirbet Tuwani cave village, which suffers badly from the settlers of nearby outposts, and especially from the extremist Ma'on outpost. . The settlers contaminate cisterns, poison the flocks and uproot trees.Particularly notable is the harassment of children from the surrounding villages on their way to school in a-Tuwani, so much so that military escort of children is required to separate them from the attackers (this was arranged following an initiative of the organization's members). In the past year, the escort has been without the vital presence of overseas volunteers.
Near a-Tuwani there are several families who have returned to the caves due to the incessant demolitions of the civil administration (as there is a total construction ban in all of area C). Destroyed are not only residential and agricultural buildings, but also water pipes, machinery. Even water cisterns are clogged up. a-Tuwani residents have created an association for non-violent demolition protests, but in the past year the army’s harsh harassment and settler violence have intensified and escalated. The incident of the small generator confiscation, which left a young man paralyzed, is one of many examples - any legitimate protection of property rights leads to violence and even shootings by the army and the civil administration.
Updated April 2022
MuhammadFeb-24-2026South Hebron Hill, Beit Hagai: Paving an internal security road
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Mesafer Yatta
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This is happening in Fire Area 918 in the South Hebron Hills
On the eve of Remembrance Day (the day before Israel Independence Day), 4th May, 2022, the Israeli High Court decided on the transfer and expulsion of residents from 8 Palestinian communities in the area of Masafar Yata in the South Hebron Hills. Residents of the villages have been living under the threat of demolition, evacuation and expropriation since the IDF issued evacuation orders in 1999 based on the 1980s proclamation of their area of residence as a firing zone for IDF drills. None of the nearby settlements were included in this zone. The Masafer Yata Palestinian villages retain a special lifestyle and ancient agricultural culture. They also posess a clear historical documentation that testifies to a Palestinian settlement in this area, generations before the establishment of Israel, long ago in the caves and at later times outside them.
Evacuating residents from the area means destroying these historic villages and leaving entire families (about 2,000 people, children, adults, and the elderly) homeless. This is contrary to international law.
In June 2022, a firing drill started, and life became harder.
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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
MuhammadFeb-24-2026South Hebron Hill, Beit Hagai: Paving an internal security road
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