South Hebron Hills, Sun 7.4.13, Morning
Translator: Charles K.
We left the Shokat junction at 06:30. On the way we saw, on the hills opposite K’ramim, people on their way to Israel who don’t have work permits. We didn’t see a military vehicle waiting for them on the Israeli side.
At 06:39 we entered the Meitar checkpoint. It was empty. Our guests from overseas commented with amazement that it was functioning well. About 5,000 people had crossed by now.
When we arrived, there were women and children there, on their way to visit relatives in Israeli prisons. When they reached the booths they were told to wait until 07:00. Meanwhile another wave of workers had arrived.
On Highway 317, near Zif, we saw a large number of children walking to school.
Hebron
Curve 160 – children on their way to school.
07:45
Three detainees near the Cave of the Patriarchs. I asked what was happening and received a pretty rude reply from a Border Police soldier: “You’re interfering with my work.” We waited eight minutes and they were released. While they were detained and waited to be checked additional people crossed without being detained or having their documents inspected.
The town of Hebron is dead but Israeli flags fly proudly in the streets.
Its sad
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
Muhammad D.Jun-2-2026The Israeli car blocking one of the entrances to Simiya
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