South Hebron Hills, Tue 26.2.13, Morning
Muhammed and Dana told me that there had been nothing untoward on their journey down. We did not go into Hebron itself but went to the two villages of UM Faqqra and Tuwanni. At Um Faqqra we delivered clothing and bedding which we had collected. The children came home early and said that they had had only two lessons that day and that there would be no school for the next two days because the teachers have not been paid.
At Tawanni we visited with an Italian lady who has been there for only a short time. They live in the average sort of home there……though higher up in the village we did see the most amazing new pink villa….. I guess it shows my own personal racism. Had I heard that 9 Palestinians were living in this two roomed house…the second room where I guess they sleep was completely empy…..I would have taken it for granted but hearing that the 9 volunteers all lived there together I was quite taken aback. She told us that they are part of Operation Dove and have been in various other countries including Italy itself. When I said that I was rather surprised that she felt that Italy was a country which needed peace activists she told us that there is an area called Val di Susa where there are illegal workers who need help and that in Greece there is an area where there are fascists who attacked the immigrant workers.
The other volunteers were out with the shepherds for the day. She says that the Palestinians have now developed a system. When a shepherd is attacked in a valley by settlers the following day all the shepherd and also villagers congregate in the same area and send the settlers a message. I hope that I got this right because it seems to me to be the sort of situation which would bring the settlers down in their masses and the police and soldiers. So maybe someone else should check this out again.
I also wanted to show Dana the lady who has her shop in a cave but unfortunately there was no one at 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
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