Susiya - To protect against settlers, they built a wall of tires
We drove along Route 317, with the yellowing fields…
On a dirt track leading to Samu’ (one needs to bypass the Samu’ entrance blocked by the Israeli army), we met 2 young men, Bedouin citizens of Israel, with 2 cars that the army left stuck on the track, and whose keys were taken away. This is the army’s latest method.
We offered the men a water bottle. At first, they hesitated, not knowing who and what we were, but Muhammad spoke with them in Arabic and they calmed down and accepted the water…
They said they were held for 3 hours with their hands shackled and blindfolded (showing us signs of the cuffs) at the Susiya army base, inside a container without air.
Then they were released and they are waiting in the summer sun near the cars, to have their keys back, another several hours…
Truly cruel!
We continued to Susiya, to the home of Najah and Muhammad Abu Sadam Mghanem.
They are an elderly couple. He was beaten up about two years ago by colonists, cannot hear and is very ill, and his wife takes care of him.
They are afraid to take their sheep out to graze for the colonists arrive immediately and cause trouble.
During the Ramadan month a vehicle was left by their home, stolen from Yatta, it was brought to their yard and burnt so as not to leave traces.
Around their home they arranged a wall of tires in order to mark their area, and prevent the ATVs from getting close to the house. But the colonists, who mainly pass behind the house, ruin the wall each time and it has to be put up anew.
The colonists have a cattle flock which they graze in areas that are not theirs!
Because of all of this, some neighbors have left the village, and Najah and Mohammad’s children and grandchildren have also left for Yatta.
Some of the goats were passed on to Yatta because of the attacks against them. In addition, the sheep and goats suffer a disease. Only 7 goats are left in the pen, locked!
Najah said that one of her grandchildren has just graduated from his nursing studies, and the family celebrated.
We left them clothes and food, and continued to Azam and Wadha, also at Susiya.
Nasser was there and said that in Rahwa, near Tene Omarim settlement, he has a vegetable patch, and Elyashiv of Nahalat Yehuda outpost ruined it. The colonists also stole a tractor, and cut water pipes… A complaint was lodged and the police and army claim they are trying to find the assailants…
In the meantime, while we were there, veterinary doctors came to vaccinate all the animals in the area. The disease is very catching so they are very concerned.
The colonists’ flocks, incidentally, catch the disease as well.
The PA Ministry of Agriculture sent the veterinarians and the EU is financing the vaccines.
The children are on summer vacation but are not seen outdoors as much, for the colonists continued to roam amid the family homes, pressuring, threatening and scaring them…
On our way back toward Meitar Checkpoint we saw the 2 cars again belonging to the Bedouin citizens of Israel, still waiting for their keys!!
Life routine? No, occupation routine…
Location Description
Meitar checkpoint / Sansana
See all reports for this place-
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
-
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
A Palestinian residentJul-19-2026Graffiti sprayed in A-Tuwani
-
Susiya
See all reports for this place-
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.
-