South Hebron Hills
South Hebron Hills
Siege, closure, blockages
The entrance to Deir Razih
The entrance to Karmah
Because of the situation on road 60 we returned to road 317 so as to understand the situation of the besieged and blocked villages. Truly the entrances to Hebron, Yatta and Bani Na’im. Equipped with yellow gates and the guard post with soldiers.
The local inhabitants prefer that as there at least they are allowed through after having been checked. That is because the other possible entrances which are through neighboring villages or other roads which have not been tarred have simply been blocked with mountains of dirt and large stones which have made them impassable.
I quote Ami Ayalon: “We have created in Herbon as in other places a vacuum which pulls us all in, as in a black hole….There is no way of keeping a shadow of humanity, of knowing what is legal and what not, what is good and what is bad, what is righteous and what not.
There can be no other reality when there is domination and military rule over millions of people…. The reality will continue to be insane so long as the occupation continues.”
So said one of the authorities who devoted most of his life to our security.
We, MachsomWatch and Breaking the Silence, are not weird.
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.Jul-23-2026The new settlement, starting June 1, 2026, opposite Khallet al-Humus.
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