South Hebron Hills, Thu 9.2.12, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
We made our regular visit to Huda’s kindergarten in Hashem al Darj, near Umm el Hir. We arrived with a car full with donations to the residents of Umm el Hir, and material for the kindergarten.
Hashem al Darj
We arrived at the kindergarten, in its new building adjoining the old one. No dramatic changes were visible, but as we drew closer we saw people working, installing windows, ceramic tiles, etc. inside.
But…good heavens! The kindergarten is closed!
We called and called, but no one replied. Huda, the kindergarten teacher, doesn’t answer her cellphone. We wondered whether to go to her home and decided it wasn’t advisable, for personal reasons.
We asked the people working there, who told us that the kindergarten had been open during the past few days, including yesterday. We wondered – what happened today?! – and returned to Umm el Hir.
Umm el Hir
Eid told us what had happened that week – again buildings were demolished in Umm el Hir, his village. People from the Civil Administration arrived and again demolished the home of a widow with nine children, the oldest of whom is 20. The residents immediately erected a tin shed right next door. We went to visit the woman and her family. We gave her the goods we’d brought, including a small cabinet donated by our friend Patty.
We listened to what their neighbors felt about what the “bad Jews” had done, and saw the horrible scene with our own eyes.
We also left for the residents the fruits and vegetables we had brought for the workshop in the kindergarten, and drove home.
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
Yael ZoranMay-22-2025The bumpy road to Ata's house
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