South Hebron Hills: Settlers broke a tractor belonging to A. and confiscated his cellphone
The road to Meitar checkpoint is busier than usual with private cars and trucks in both directions. On the other hand, the parking lot at the checkpoint is almost empty as usual. Since the start of the war, workers are not permitted to enter Israel to work (with all that this implies).
We drive to A-Tawani to visit N. He tells us about a bulldozer that has been brought from Havat Maon and is working on the agricultural path. It’s apparently doing groundwork for a road between Havat Maon and the settlement of Avigail. It’s not clear to the villagers what the plans are and they have asked a lawyer to check it out. They’re waiting for an answer.
The army has declared the area a closed military zone and does not allow people to enter maybe because/despite the fact that there are olive groves there and it’s the harvest season!
Close to Hashem el-Daraj, Eyal from the settlement of Meitar has opened a hospitality tent where people can sit and talk with guests. Eyal is a known activist, a friend of many Palestinians, a peace lover. He brings families equipment that they lack, is helping Salem build a greenhouse and does more.
In the area of Ben Naim, towards the desert, Nasser Adal has a plot of sabras. He is isolated, with no neighbors to help him, and it’s easy to get to him and harm him. And that’s what happened. Settlers arrived, broke his tractor, and beat up his son. He filed a complaint but he had no photos because they took his phone. They filed a complaint for the tractor as well.
There’s talk among the activists about installing cameras to document what’s happening there, but it costs money. Cameras have been installed in some places.
The army passes the village from time to time, usually just to frighten and stress people, or to stop cars, carry out a search and move on.
Teachers leave their cars on the other side of the checkpoint, opposite the entrance to A-Tawani and go to school on foot.
The army used to create more mayhem, but because the villagers filed a complaint, it’s a bit quieter and the army doesn’t come to harass them so much.
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
Daphna JungMar-16-2025Simia: Farhan and his wife
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