South Hebron Hills, Al-Tuwani, Sun 1.1.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
Today is January 1st. Schools on the West Bank are closed for the new year holiday. Nothing unusual occurred.
We entered Al-Tuwani, where an archaeological dig is underway. We went there because a flyer had been distributed in synagogues reporting that an ancient synagogue had been discovered there. A mosaic floor is visible at the site (photos attached), as well as the remains of various rooms built in the Byzantine style. A person living nearby said he hoped the dig would enrich our knowledge of the period but he was also apprehensive about its implications for the continued existence of the locality in which people have been living for many years. The Civil Administration, meanwhile, has postponed laying the water line, work on which was already supposed to have begun. Postponements, and more postponements. (We still remember the well that was poisoned about six years ago by an animal carcass that someone had dumped into it).
We bought excellent, inexpensive olive oil from the grocery at the Hazif junction.
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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