Back to reports search page

Sheika - Settler Elyashiv Nahum from Havat Yehuda violently evicts residents

Observers: Smadar Becker and Muhammad Dabsan. Translation: Bracha Ben-Avraham
Nov-17-2024
| Morning

I have already written about N. who worked in Israel for many years and has not been able to earn a living since October 7th of last year.  N. lives in a village near Beit Awwa where checkpoints were occasionally set up before the war of October 7th.   Drivers were stopped and questioned at these checkpoint ats random.   He has three sons and a daughter and they often have no food at home.  We were asked to bring him a donation of food from a friend and we met him on the road to Ramadin.   It was an emotional meeting and we parted until next time.    

Exiting the village is not easy. There is only one exit and entrance in the direction of Dura. The army patrols the village and the entire area several times a week. 

From there we continued on Route 60 to visit Faris and his family in Sheika. We usually visited Faris frequently in Zanuta, the village that was destroyed by Yinon Levi from Meitarim (against whom sanctions have been placed by the United States and the European Union). Despite the Supreme Court decision for the residents to return to the village and to restore it  they have been evicted again and the place is now deserted. 

The family earns a living by herding flocks that they brought from Zanuta to Sheika.   Their grazing land was in a wadi (riverbed) near their family’s land, but the settler Elyashiv Nachum from Havat Yehuda drove them away again and again, frequently using violence.    This forced them to purchase bags of feed for their flocks.  Each ton of food costs NIS 1500.  We have written previously about the difficulty of purchasing food by people in the villages that we visit. The army also patrols the villages here several times each week and confiscates people’s cars.

This is the occupation.

Location Description

  • Shweika

    See all reports for this place
    • Shweika

      The checkpoint is located north of the Palestinian city of Shweika. In this area, the separation barrier was built east of the Green Line, for no apparent reason. There is no settlement there that should be in succession with the State of Israel.
      But ... there is a single house that belongs to a Palestinian family. The separation barrier cut off the house and its occupants from the Palestinian settlement and left them in the seam area. That is, between the fence and the West Bank.
      The residents of the house are supposed to manage their lives in connection with the settlements in the West Bank. They are not allowed to move within the State of Israel. In order to reach the West Bank, they need a permit and soldiers to open the checkpoint for them ...
      One more catch...

  • South Hebron Hills

    See all reports for this place
    • 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

       

       

      סימיא: פרחאן ואשתו בביתם
      Daphna Jung
      Mar-16-2025
      Simia: Farhan and his wife
Donate