Zanuta - hope of returning to their village after the Supreme Court's decision
A visit to Fares and his family in Shweike, south of Mount Hebron
We are going to visit Fares who was evicted at the end of 2023 from the village of Zanuta, which we have already documented several times of the incessant abuse of him by the settlers of two nearby farms, Meitarim Farm (Yinon Levy) and Yehuda Farm (Elyashiv Nahum).
It is important for us this time to hear about the High Court’s permission for the residents of Zanota to return to their village. They are going to return there this week, after having been forced to leave by the harassment of settlers.
Already at the entrance to the dirt road that turns from Route 60, near the pool of water, in the direction of Shweike we see garbage that, according to the packaging, was thrown by Jews.
We photographed and documented.
Fares receives us as usual, happily for our arrival and with him two of his sons and grandsons. We are sitting in a well-kept and tidy shed and after a few minutes of conversation one of the grandchildren arrives with plates of prickly pears and warm pita bread.
They graze the flock as close as possible to their residential area, so as to avoid an encounter with the settlers (which is sometimes accompanied by beatings and violence from the latter). Of course this is problematic, because it requires buying food in sacks and less natural grazing. Fares says that Elyashiv Nahum from Havat Yehuda, occasionally sends a drone to take pictures of their home.
There is hope for a return to Zanuta which has been their home for generations, but they know it will not be easy and the violent harassment that has accompanied them for years will not stop.
**************
*Two days after our visit they returned to Zanuta. Many activists from Human Rights organizations accompanied them on this exciting day. It is painful to see the great destruction. Several sheds were erected by the returning residents, which were soon destroyed, as expected, by the settlers.
Who controls the territory? Pretty clear.
This is the occupation.
Shweika
See all reports for this place-
Shweika
The checkpoint is located north of the Palestinian city of Shweika. In this area, the separation barrier was built east of the Green Line, for no apparent reason. There is no settlement there that should be in succession with the State of Israel.
But ... there is a single house that belongs to a Palestinian family. The separation barrier cut off the house and its occupants from the Palestinian settlement and left them in the seam area. That is, between the fence and the West Bank.
The residents of the house are supposed to manage their lives in connection with the settlements in the West Bank. They are not allowed to move within the State of Israel. In order to reach the West Bank, they need a permit and soldiers to open the checkpoint for them ...
One more catch...
-
South Hebron Hills
See all reports for this place-
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
Daphna JungMar-16-2025Simia: Farhan and his wife
-
Zanuta
See all reports for this place-
Zanuta was a small rural Palestinian locality until its demolition. It was situated in the space around the town Dahariya in the South Hebron Hills, about a ten-minute ride from Meitar Checkpoint. There are documented remains of a large Byzantine settlement in the area. Since the Ottoman (Turkish Empire) period (1516-1917) Zanuta was documented as a locality of shepherds and farmers who live in the remains of the ancient structures and the residential caves near them.
Two individual ranches of colonists were created next to Zanuta: Meitarim (of the colonist Yinon Levi) to the east, and Yehudah (of the colonist Elyashiv Nachum) to the north. Endless attacks, harassments and attempt to chase away the Zanuta villagers have originated in these two outposts.
Until the expulsion, four families lived in the village: A-Samama, Al-Tel, Al Batat, and Al-Qaisia. Farming constituted their main economic activity and employed most of the villagers. The total area of the village is about 12,000 dunams, of which about 3,000 are tended, mostly with field crops.
This village has never had a master plan that would legitimize construction permits. The Civil Administration claimed it was too small and the distance to the next town, Dahariya, too great. For this reason, the Israeli authorities pressured the villagers to leave. The colonists did the job for them.
-