Hebron - all entrances have been closed, except for Beit Anun, since October 7
We had not been in the Hebron area near the city for a long time, so following a conversation with Ata Jaber we went to visit. The day before, Muhammad went to Samu’ to bring food to Abu Safi's widow, who was living in poverty there. He, as reported before, died after being expelled from their home in Wadi Radim. And we, traveling on the road, we saw how the settlement of the settler Israel Kaplan, the one who drove him from his land, expands and develops.
There are many military vehicles on the way returning, not clear from where. We called our acquaintances at A-Tuwani to find out why there are so many of these military vehicles. There had been no connection to them says N.A. But those who had received a permit the day before to harvest their olives under the supervision of the IDF, unexpectedly had it cancelled the next day and were banned from access to their lands and olive groves. Why?
To the god of conquest, the solutions. We drove to Hebron via Route 317.
At the Zif junction, the Yatta gate is closed. 3 buses arrived with children returning home from school, from the school located in Zif. The gate was not opened for them either and the children got off the buses and ran on foot to the other side of the checkpoint, where the buses that would take them home to Yatta were waiting for them.
We arrived at Ata Jaber’s who lives on the hill across the road, in front of the entrance to Kiryat Arba. We bought him and his family some sweets for the grandchildren. He and his family still grow grapes and vegetables on their land there, in the valley spread out at the foot of Kiryat Arba and Hebron.
Reminder: Kiryat Arba, built in 1968, is also on the family's land, which was nationalized from it for the purpose of building the city. He says that settlers and security personnel are constantly walking around them, measuring and checking whether the Palestinians have taken over more land.
To my question if he is afraid that they will try to deport him, he answers: "I have," he says, "a permit to build this house where I live that has been mine since 2000, so they cannot evict. And yet since 1982, they have tried unsuccessfully to declare all our lands as state lands."
From 7.10 the situation got worse and all the entrances around Hebron were closed, from Beit Anun, Sa’ir and Halhul. He travels to Hebron only from Beit Anun and also there in the back-to-back method.
We also picked him up from there after he had made this long detour with his four-year-old grandson, and we drove to his house. We sat in his house and looked out over the beautiful view of the vineyards, Kiryat Arba and Hebron.
And he continued: "The whole world doesn't want us. Where will we go? What have we committed? We want true peace with the Israelis, and to be given equal rights and live with you. We have everything we need to live well. We and you can live together and manage alone. We don't need the Americans. 99% of the people want a new government. There are many good people who can do it instead of the one that exists now."
While talking, someone from "Doctors Without Borders" calls him and asks him to tell how they are doing, and he describes the difficult situation of his family and neighbours, as we see and know: no income, no job, no possibility to lead a normal life. He also tells him about us and hands me the phone and I was also asked about the situation, about our actions and abilities.
We returned via Route 60, indeed all the southern entrances to Hebron are also closed, except for the one in front of the Sheep Crossing. The Dura al-Fawwar junction is also closed. We turned to the road to Khursa to see what the situation was there. The road is closed, but something is being built there. Where there was the Adorayim base, buildings have sprung up and construction is accelerating. It is not clear what will be built there but many different army cars arrive and enter.
The road to Abda is closed, to Karma open, to Dahariya closed. Only a side dirt road to Daharyia is open and can be accessed.
In Mitzpe Eshtamoah outpost the bulldozer is working vigorously. Development and expansion of the settlements continue.
The routine of occupation.