South Hebron Hills - roads to the cities and villages are blocked

Meitar Checkpoint –There are trucks crossing into Israel but the parking lot is empty.   There are no workers entering Israel since October 2023!  

At the entrance from the Palestinian side, there are new concrete blocks, defending the army.

Along Route 317 east of the entrance to As Samu we saw several fields that had been cultivated despite the barricades.  Most looked like they had been abandoned.

Opposite Susya we saw sheep and cows grazing with a shepherd who was a settler!

Opposite At Tuwani the crossings to Yata were closed by earth embankments.  People need to take alternate routes that require a much longer time.

Zif Junction was also completely closed by a checkpoint with no soldiers, and people have to walk around.

We did some shopping at Nabil’s store at the Zif Junction and paid with money that had been donated for one of the needy families from the area of Yata.   We distributed the food and clothing at one of the junctions.

We returned to Route 60.  The entrances to Hebron at the Sheep Junction were closed.  The entrance to Rahiya was also closed, but attractive new traffic circles had been built. 

Qilqis – Hebron was also closed.  Taxis were picking people up and dropping them off where they had to continue walking to get where they had to.

The same thing was evident at Dura-Al-Fawwar Junction.  All exits and entrances were closed. 

The entrance to As Samu  from Route 60 was also closed, and there were no soldiers present, so it is impossible to open the gate if necessary.

All along the way, all the dirt roads to the cities are blocked to cars.

The insufferable burden on daily life is evident everywhere along the roads, in agriculture, in the absence of herds in the fields, and of course also in the sweeping ban on working in Israel.