South Hebron
South Hebron Hills Monday 8.5.06Observers: Lea S., Yael Z. (reports)6.45-8.45We didn’t enter Hebron considering the situation to be still dangerous after yesterday. Instead we watched the possibilities of free passing through the roads.Sansana – No workers on the road – the closure is still on.Route 317Along the western side of the road, where there is a plateau, a low concrete wall is being built. It will replace the dust piles and is part of securing the settlers but may also be used to hide behind. Carmel +Maon – Young girls are waiting for a lift at the junction, as if nothing had happened there before.Long lines of children walking to school, some of them on donkeys’ backs.Zif J – The gate is open and cars are driving towards Yata.Route 35 The humanitarian gate is closed, no military presence is seen.Halhul-Hebron bridge – Open from both sides.Route 60 ( North to South)Halhul east J. – Open from all sides, no soldiers are seen.Kiriat Arba – A military vehicle is watching the entrence.Shayuch – Sair – Girls are passing the road a man (teacher?) is watching them with the assistance of a military vehicle at the school’s side.Sheep J – A long line of students and others crossing the raod over the dust piles.Dura- El pawar – Road constructions are done while transportation goes smoothly from both sides. No military presence is seen.
Hebron
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According to Wye Plantation Accords (1997), Hebron is divided in two: H1 is under Palestinian Authority control, H2 is under Israeli control. In Hebron there are 170,000 Palestinian citizens, 60,000 of them in H2. Between the two areas are permanent checkpoints, manned at all hours, preventing Palestinian movement between them and controlling passage of permit holders such as teachers and schoolchildren. Some 800 Jews live in Avraham Avinu Quarter and Tel Rumeida, on Givat HaAvot and in the wholesale market.
Checkpoints observed in H2:
- Bet Hameriva CP- manned with a pillbox
- Kapisha quarter CP (the northern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
- The 160 turn CP (the southern side of Zion axis) - manned with a pillbox
- Avraham Avinu quarter - watch station
- The pharmacy CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
- Tarpat (1929) CP - checking inside a caravan with a magnometer
- Tel Rumeida CP - guarding station
- Beit Hadassah CP - guarding station
Three checkpoints around the Tomb of the Patriarchs
Leah ShakdielApr-8-2025Hebron: A sign advertising a tempting real estate
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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 ZoranMay-22-2025The bumpy road to Ata's house
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