South Hebron
South Hebron hills: Mon. 15 May 06, AMObservers: Yeela L., Judy A.In short: very few Palestinian cars on the roads – about 5 the entire rounds. Palestinians reporting Border Patrol troops detaining people for long periods – over two hours – at Shayukh checkpoint. Currently the more popular time for military detaining actions seems to be 2:00 – 3:00pm. We should try and do our rounds during this time.We left Shokat Junction at 6:45am. At the Shmaah crossing, Ibrahim’s ID was checked by a solider there. We were not asked for ours. 7:15 At road to Dhahariya from route 60, a transit was standing with four women waiting outside of it. Soldiers in a hummer were there also. As we arrived, the women returned to the transit as did the driver and they continued on their way.The traffic was moving freely between Dura and Fawwar. A rotary is being built on the main road which will slow down the traffic on Route 60 and make the crossing safer. At the Sheep Crossing, Yeela talked to several taxi drivers on the Hebron side of the road. They reported that the army checks IDs at the crossing in the afternoon (15:00) and once or twice a week enter the area where the taxis are waiting in order to check the people there.8:00 Shuyukh. Hummer parked on Hebron side of road. Many children were crossing the road in both directions on their way to school. This is a very dangerous crossing because of the speed of the traffic on route 60. Taxi drivers behind the blockade in Shuyukh reported that the Border Police routinely pull cars off the road at 14:00 to check IDs. On Shabbat at 15:00, many cars were pulled over and held for 2-3 hours until the Border Police checked IDs and conducted body searches. Petrol is scare in the village so one of the taxi drivers went to the Kiryat Arba gas station to purchase a jerry can of petrol. The gas station guard made him wait for 2 hours and he was then charged an exorbitant price for the petrol. Four days ago, the army took over a home in Shuyukh in order to observe an internal road in the village.Halhoul East – traffic moving freely. Humanitarian gate was closed. Bridge connecting Halhoul-Hebron was open.Zif crossing was open. At Carmel, 10 Jewish adolescents were waiting on the road for a lift. An adolescent girl and four boys were waiting for a lift at Maon.There were very few Palestinian cars on the road during the time we were in the area. We saw two army vehicles traveling on the roads. 0ne near Beit Haggai and one near Beni Naim. Returned to Shokat Junction at 9am. We might want to consider going out in the afternoon now and again if that is when the army and Border Police are carrying out most of their checks.
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
Muhammad D.Aug-11-2026Anim Farm
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