South Hebron Hills: Displacement and Survival in the Shadow of Outposts
In February, about two months ago, we visited the Mahariq family, presnt for decades at Khalat al-Mafatih on the outskirts of Samu’a. I mention the young settler who tried to block us from entering. He came from a relatively new settler outpost not far from there, with the aim of erecting it like all the outposts in the West Bank – overtaking land and making some money.
About a month later, the owner of the outpost arrived at the family’s area with another 8 settlers and accompanied by about 25 soldiers – and picked up 60 sheep to the outpost.
The next day, two settlers wearing army garb threatened to take the rest of the flock (about 140 sheep) if the family didn’t leave the place. This threat left them no choice. The whole family transferred the flock and their meager belongings to Simiya.
About 10 years ago, they purchased an area there in order to erect a cowshed, but events never enabled it and in the meantime Mohammad’s flock was brought there. They live in tents, and even the kitchen with its minimal cooking means is in a tent.
Grazing is scant in this region and they are forced to purchase feed in sacks, a difficultly steep expense.
During our visit, Mohammad’s brother arrived with his family from Samu’a, and said that since October 7th, he has no work. For many years he worked in the Be’er Sheva district, and like most Palestinians he was prevented from continuing to find his livelihood in Israel.
We brought donated sacks of food, as we are wont.
On our way back, we saw a vehicle and a person standing at one of the improvised exits from Samu’a. In our talk with him, apparently early that morning the Israeli army stopped him, his vehicle keys were confiscated and he has been waiting for hours to get them back. His vehicle blocked other vehicles from exiting and entering there.
This is routine in Occupied Territory. As always, one is so sad and pained at this hellish reality.
Location Description
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
Smadar BeckerMay-10-2026A personal certificate for every child who finishes the year at Huda's kindergarten, Hashem Al-Daraj
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