South Hebron Hills: Entrances to villages are blocked
We are still in the month of Ramadan, still under lockdown, no entry for workers, and the Meitar checkpoint still looks deserted. Only a few cars are parked there.
Along the road, wheat and barley fields have begun to grow, the pastoral appearance is deceptive.
Samu crossing, surprisingly, is open to vehicles. It is not known for how long.
We drove to Simia to visit Farhan.
The dirt entrance to the village has been blocked again for a long time.
They opened another entrance, on the dirt road, but in the morning, before we arrived, the army came and did not let the vehicles pass for about two hours and then they left.
This is the method to make life miserable, to abuse the Palestinians, to make every trip longer and more expensive. However, soldiers have not entered the houses recently.
School is open, but because of Ramadan, the school days are shorter.
There are fewer home visits during this Ramadan. Some people rest during the day, due to the fast and some travel to visit family in another village.
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
Michal TsadikJul-25-2025The interior of the burnt house
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