Umm Gusa - ahouse demolished inspite of a permit stating the opposite
We passed the Meitar checkpoint and turned to Route 60. The army post located nearby, on the right side, is not manned.
About a kilometre before Zanota, on the left, a yellow barrier blocks the possibility of going down to the Havat Or and Havat Shabtai settlement areas.
It can be seen that road paving works are being carried out near the farm.
At Meiter Junction, on Route 317, near the South Mount Hebron Regional Council, several large concrete blocks were placed, apparently in preparation for a new post.
In front of the entrance to At –Tuwani, at the entrance to Al Carmel, there are entry and exit barriers for vehicles, which makes the residents of the area have no choice but to walk back and forth. Some of them come from the surrounding villages, and have to walk many kilometres. Sometimes cars or taxis are waiting for them on the other side.
We gather Nasser Adra in At-Tuwani on our way to Umm Gusa, a village of 80 families, belonging to Umm Daraj.
Nasser called out attention to his friend Jamil, who is ploughing the land he owns.
A number of volunteers and a van and a number of soldiers by his side, guarding him, lest settlers come to remove him. He was given 3 days to do the ploughing.
At Umm Gosa, we are welcomed by Najah Muhammad Taimat. Originally the residents of the village were Bedouins who were expelled in 1948, the War of Liberation, from the area of Tel Arad and Beit Shemesh.
Since October 7th, it is not possible to work in Israel, therefore the men in the family have been at home since then. Some of them worked in kibbutzim surrounding Gaza and luckily for them on that terrible Shabbat, they were not present at work. The family owns an olive grove and areas that they cultivate and sow wheat and barley.
Najah speaks Hebrew, 30 years old, says that about a year ago he started building a house for his family. When the Civil Administration found out about it, Ilan, known to us from many cases of house demolitions, told Najah that he had permission to build. Despite this, 3 months later, Ilan arrived with a demolition order in his hand, to be carried out in 96 hours. Najah filed an appeal through a lawyer to the court in Jerusalem. After a month, the army destroyed the house with a bulldozer. Since then, the family has been living in a trailer next to the wreck site.
The story did not end there.
After they destroyed the house, it turned out that there was a mistake and in fact there is a permit. I asked again and clarified the details, because it is difficult to grasp such a thing. In April 2023, Najah submitted a request for compensation, after an appraiser’s examination, who estimated the compensation at NIS 237,000.
I photographed a number of documents, regarding this delusional case. It is assumed that the treatment will last for years.
I remembered that on a previous trip to the area (when there was a demolition order for the school of Umm Gusa, and the demolition was not carried out) Nasser Adra talked about a settler named Yoav, who settled a year ago, on a hill where a police station was located during the British Mandate, one of 6 stations. The settler from Susiya has put up a sign with the name of the place, Mitzpeh Umm Daraj, and threatens with a long weapon anyone who tries to reach his outpost.
To show presence and control, he makes a daily round with his ATV on the road around Umm Gusa.
We will continue to follow the family we visited.
On our way back, surprise: At the Umm al Kheir–Carmel intersection, the settler who owns the nearby farm, opposite Zvidin, Shimon Atia with his herd, waves to us in peace (he probably thought we were settlers).
Another surprise a few kilometres later, the settler Issachar Man, dressed in army clothes and holding a long weapon, the owner of the farm next to Umm al Kheir, the man of the vineyards and the winery, he is also seen near the road, next to the sign pointing to the Issachar Man farm.
Nasser Adra says that Issachar is walking around the area, spreading fear with his weapon, especially since the war on October 7, 2023.
There is some change following the involvement of the US and several European countries in the subject of the occupation.
As with any shift, the occupation and apartheid are evident everywhere.
A-Tuwani
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A-Tuwani
The locals came to a-Tuwani during the 20th century from the village of Yatta. They settled in abandoned ruins, utilizing the arable land, pastures for grazing sheep and the abundance of natural caves for habitation. The residents who settled in the caves came from families who could not purchase land for houses in the mother villages, as well as shepherds who did not have enough land to graze. They were joined by clan members who quarreled with other families in the mother locality.
Some of the residents today live in concrete buildings built above the caves. In the area of the village are several water cisterns and an ancient water well called 'Ein a-Tuwani. Local residents are forced to buy water in containers and transport them through many road blocks to the village. With the help of international organizations, an electrical system was installed in the village. In the late 90s of the 20tTh century, an elementary school was established in the serving several small villages in the area.
In 2004, MachsomWatch began visiting and reporting from the Khirbet Tuwani cave village, which suffers badly from the settlers of nearby outposts, and especially from the extremist Ma'on outpost. . The settlers contaminate cisterns, poison the flocks and uproot trees.Particularly notable is the harassment of children from the surrounding villages on their way to school in a-Tuwani, so much so that military escort of children is required to separate them from the attackers (this was arranged following an initiative of the organization's members). In the past year, the escort has been without the vital presence of overseas volunteers.
Near a-Tuwani there are several families who have returned to the caves due to the incessant demolitions of the civil administration (as there is a total construction ban in all of area C). Destroyed are not only residential and agricultural buildings, but also water pipes, machinery. Even water cisterns are clogged up. a-Tuwani residents have created an association for non-violent demolition protests, but in the past year the army’s harsh harassment and settler violence have intensified and escalated. The incident of the small generator confiscation, which left a young man paralyzed, is one of many examples - any legitimate protection of property rights leads to violence and even shootings by the army and the civil administration.
Updated April 2022
A Palestinian residentJun-9-2025Fuqiqis - Settler boys arrive with a herd and harass family members
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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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Mesafer Yatta
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Masafer Yatta
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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
A Palestinian residentJun-9-2025Fuqiqis - Settler boys arrive with a herd and harass family members
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Umm al-Kheir
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Umm al-Kheir
A Palestinian village in the southern Hebron governorate, populated by five families. The Palestinian residents settled there decades ago, after Israel expelled them from the Arad desert and purchased the land from the residents of the Palestinian village of Yatta. The village suffers from the violence of nearby Carmel settlers, from water shortage and is subject to frequent demolition of buildings by the Civil Administration.
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