Susiya - The Palestinian residents are living in a state of constant dread.
At the Meitar checkpoint there is lively movement of trucks in both directions. The parking lot on the Palestinian side is empty. This situation has remained the same since October 7. We traveled in the direction of Susiya, in order to visit ‘Azam.
Israeli flags were waving proudly on Route 60. “Decorations” which appeared at the beginning of the war. At the Meitarim junction, at the entrance to road 317 which goes to Susiya, there were new warriors, this time not manned with soldiers. Another war decoration, in addition, of course, to a blockade of all the entrances to the Palestinian villages, including the dirt roads on which there was already a difficult entry.
We went past what was, until recently, Maktel Am-Salem. Now there are Israeli flags there. We went past the Kaplan Farm, belonging to the settler who had banished Abu Safi from the cave which was his home. The Farm was enlarged and developed, and they have both electricity and water. The settlement of Asael also is growing and flourishing.
Along the way, we saw a tractor arrive and we thought how good it was that the Palestinians were able to dig furrows again; but then it became clear that the tractor was bringing things to Samu’ and, since the roads were blocked to Palestinians, they were crossing the road by foot with all their merchandise on their backs and a baby in their arms.
At the turn of road 317 toward ancient Susiya there is a new military post. We got to ‘Azam. Of course, the entrance to the village was blocked with sandpiles. He told us that, a day before our arrival, a woman of about 40 from the village went down to the grazing land on her family’s land. Three soldiers went down and arrested her. She was released after 2 hours and the police claimed that she had been arrested because she did not identify herself. She was released only after she had been identified.
The same evening, a group of 6 men arrived, along with 2 dogs, at the house of Nasser Nuada, frightened his wife and children who were in the house and then left. The same night, at 1 AM, Amishav Peled returned from Susiya with the 2 dogs. It seems as though the experience of scaring the children gave him a lift in spirits.
On Shabbat, young settlers arrived at the entrance of the village in order to have a good time dancing to celebrate the siege which had been declared against the village, while the grownups stood watch over them from a distance.
According to ‘Azam, they are living in a state of constant dread. He said if everyone, at every moment, could come and harass them, they “feel in constant mortal danger, every day, every hour”. This is the same ‘Azam who, in a previous visit, said that he still saw a ray of light shining in the gloom…
Meitar checkpoint / Sansana
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Meitar Checkpoint / Sansana The checkpoint is located on the Green Line and serves as a border crossing between Israel and the West Bank. It is managed by the Border Crossing Authority of the Defense Ministry. It is comprised of sections for the transfer of goods as well as a vehicle checkpoint (intended for holders of blue identity cards, foreign nationals or diplomats and international organizations). Passing of Palestinians is prohibited, except for those with entry permits to Israel. Palestinians are permitted to cross on foot only. The crossing has a DCO / DCL / DCL / DCL (District Coordination Office), a customs unit, supervision, and a police unit. In the last year, a breach has been opened in the fence, not far from the crossing. This breach is known to all, including the army. There does not appear to be any interest in blocking it, probably as it permits needed Palestinian workers without the bureaucratic permits to get to work in Israel. Food stalls and a parking area economy have been created, but incidents of violent abuse by border police have also been recorded. Updated April 2022
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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
Leah ShakdielApr-29-2026South Hebron Hills. The turn to 'Afeka', one of the new outposts facing Abda
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Susiya
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Susiya The Palestinian area lies between the settlement of Susya and a military base. The residents began to settle in areas outside the villages in the 1830s and lived in caves, tents and sukkot. To this day they maintain a traditional lifestyle and their livelihood is based on agriculture and herding. Until the 1948 war, the farmers cultivated areas that extended to the Arad area. As a result of the war, a significant portion of their land left on the Israeli side was lost. After the 1967 war and the Israeli occupation, military camps were established in the area, fire zones and nature reserves were declared, and the land area was further reduced. The Jewish settlement in Susya began in 1979. Since then, there has been a stubborn struggle to remove the remains of Palestinian residents who refuse to leave their place of birth and move to nearby town Yatta. With the development of a tourist site in Khirbet Susya in the late 1980s (an ancient synagogue), dozens of families living in caves in its vicinity were deported. In the second half of the 1990s, a new form of settlement developed in the area - shepherds' farms of individual settlers. This phenomenon increased the tension between the settlers and the original, Palestinian residents, and led to repeated harassment of the residents of the farms towards the Palestinians. At the same time, demolition of buildings and crop destruction by security forces continued, as well as water and electricity prevention. In the Palestinian Susya, as in a large part of the villages of the southern Hebron Mountains, there is no running water, but the water pipe that supplies water to the Susya Jewish settlement passes through it. Palestinians have to buy expensive water that comes in tankers. Solar electricity is provided by a collector system, installed with donation funds. But the frequent demolitions in the villages do not spare water cisterns or the solar panels and power poles designed to transfer solar electricity between the villages. Updated April 2021, Anat T.
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