South Hebron Hills, Simia
What is the story of the school at Simia Challenge 13?
The Palestinian village of Simia is located on Route 60, a major traffic artery in the West Bank (between Be’er Sheva and Nazareth), which passes through the West Bank and has a number of detours which distances it from Palestinian villages.
Simia’s children have to cross this busy road on their way to school. The parents and the Palestinian Ministry of Education initiated the opening of a school in the village. But the village is in Area C, which is under the complete control of the occupier, and permission has to be asked from the Civil Administration which they never give.
Farhan from Simia does not give up. Five times the military authorities destroyed the school and five times it was again raised. That’s why the school is called Challenge 13. There are 12 such schools like it.
It is the Sumud, the nonviolent struggle for the independence of the Palestinian people.
And we…what are we doing? We are trying to show our support and to tell their story.
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
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