South Hebron Hills, Tarqumiya
Southern Hebron Hills
We left a little late because Muhammad had things to do, so we didn’t enter Hebron today.
All the barriers and roadblocks to Hebron have been removed again.
We drove first to meet the father of the boy who was released yesterday from jail.
We met him at the entrance to his locality of residence to obtain the documents necessary for one of our members to go to the youth prison at Tel Mond to get the money that hadn’t been returned to him (there are volunteers whom we thank again). On the way we received a phone call from someone who had been arrested under false pretenses by detectives, for no reason, and detained for a few hours, despite the work permit he showed them. Fortunately, a woman working in her garden agreed to serve as a witness that he had done nothing wrong and she knows him, etc. That helped him be released after a few hours but didn’t prevent the cancellation of his work permit. Why was it cancelled? Maybe you know? He’s home now, has five children to feed and is in a difficult situation. So, with Sylvia’s help, I instructed him what to do. Let’s hope that with Tamir Blank’s help his work permit will be returned as soon as possible.
We drove to the grocery in Tarqumiyya. At the Shuyukh-Sa’ir junction the paintings of Israeli flags haven’t been erased from the concrete barriers blocking the entry to Shuyukh and Hebron.
There aren’t any barriers or checkpoints on Highway 35 either.
We returned via Highway 317.
There too, like everywhere else in this area, everything green and flowering and the air is clear and all is so beautiful.
At all the settlements along the way, Ma’on, Carmel, Susia, we see new neighborhoods. Lovely homes hoisted on the hills, additions to each locality…
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
MuhammadFeb-24-2026South Hebron Hill, Beit Hagai: Paving an internal security road
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Tarqumiya CP
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The Tarqumiya Checkpoint is one of the largest and busiest checkpoints where people and goods cross into Israel. It is located on the Separation Barrier close to the Green Line, on Road 35 (connecting Beer Sheva and Hebron). It is run by the Israel Defense Ministry’s Crossings Administration with civilian secuirty companies running the day to day operations. The checkpoint is indeed open to vehicles in both directions 24/7, but Palestinians are prevented from crossing in vehicles, except in special cases. MachsomWatch activists visit the checkpoint as it opens at 3:45 am, in order to observe the daily passage of nearly 10,000 Palestinian workers. The workers arrive from throughout the Southern West Bank. Our activists report on the tremendous overcrowding at this checkpoint; they have observed young men climbing and scrambling on the fences and roofs of the ‘access cages’. This is how the work day begins for those who ‘build the land of Israel’. updated November 2019
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