South Hebron
South Hebron hills Monday 11.7.05 AMObservers: Zafrira, Elena (reporting)06:40-08:25Summary: after Sansana, soldiers were observed on the ground only at Beit Haggai, on route 60 near DCO Hebron, at Congo CP, and on route 317 a little way past CongoSansana – no detaineesDahariya: the gate is closedBeit Haggai – the roadblock set up after the shooting incident is still manned. The soldiers stopped us to ask where we were going and then let us continue on our way. There was no other traffic on the road at the time.At Dura – al Fawwar, Sheep’s Crossing, Shiyuch –Hebron, there were no soldiers on the ground and the crossings were open to pedestrians alone.Near DCO Hebron on route 60: a temporary roadblock but no other traffic and no detainees. East Halhul- Sair: the barriers on both sides of route 60 were open to vehicles. From afar we saw a Hummer parked on the Sair side, but as we approached it drove on. A bulldozer used for topping up the dirt barriers along the sides of the road was parked next to the pillbox. Earlier we had seen a similar bulldozer being escorted by two army jeeps on route 60.The Humanitarian gate – closed , no soldiers (except in the pillbox) and no trafficHalhul –Hebron bridge –open as usual. Zif junction – closed.Congo CP (turn-off to Arad from route 317) – manned, but no traffic observed.Route 317 a little way past Congo CP: On the eastern side of the road we saw a lorry in the field. Soldiers and Palestinians were standing next to it. We thought at first that the lorry had tried to cross over the dist barriers and had got stuck. But one of the soldiers (from Lavi brigade told us very politely that the lorry wasn’t stuck but had been stopped by the soldiers because they had thought it was trying to evade Congo CP. They had discovered that the Palestinians worked in the nearby fields and so they –the soldiers- intended to let them continue on their way. Indeed a few minutes after we had stopped, we saw the soldiers handing back to the Palestinians their IDs and the lorry then crossed the (fairly low) dirt barrier and proceeded along route 317. >From the enthusiastic way the Palestinians waved to us as they passed us, it occurred to us that they thought that their departure had been hastened by our presence. It’s hard to know if they were right.
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.Apr-21-2026Daphna with Azzam in Susiya
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Zif Junction
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Zif Junction located on the crossroads that directs towards Road 356 to Yata. Yata is the district city of the southern Hebron Mountains. Usually, this junction is open to traffic. The nearby pillbox is unmanned. But the army and police are present occasionally, sometimes setting up a checkpoint and sometimes detaining residents from the big city. Often, the Israeli policemen inspect vehicles and distribute driving reports to Palestinian vehicles. s
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