South Mount Hebron: the masters of the land have determined
Meitar Checkpoint
The parking lot at Meitar Checkpoint was filled with cars as well as the area near the hole in the separation fence, which serves as a place to cross. A large sign at the checkpoint states that trucks are forbidden to drive through from 05:30 – 09:00 in the morning and from 15:30 – 18:00. Maybe now there will be no traffic jams.
We drove to Susiya. Nasser invited me to see the playground and to meet the donors. The settlers are putting pressure on the Civil Administration to demolish the playground, but meanwhile there is no demolition order. The playground at the school in Susiya was also donated by the Fund for Children’s Protection. 55 school – aged children attend the school in Susiya and 35 kindergartners. A demolition order was also issued for the school but is no longer in danger of being demolished after it was proven that it is within Area B.
When we arrived the children and teachers were working outside and the area looks very attractive and well – kept.
In the firing range near the army camp in Susiya the gate to the road leading to Yatta was open. Occasionally the soldiers go down to close it, cutting the residents of Susiya off from the Yatta area. The teachers who come from Yatta cannot reach the school in Susiya. This is what the masters of the land have determined.
In general things were calm today.
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
Smadar BeckerJan-12-2026A herd of cows in the area of Zanuta, from which its residents were expelled, accompanied by a settler on horseback
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