Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills, Thu 11.7.13, Morning

Translator:  Charles K.

Sansana-Meitar crossing

The checkpoint is empty, the guards bored.

Southern Hebron Hills

We turn onto Highway 60.  A new sign, “Grow with us,” stands proudly.  Then to Highway 317, a seemingly pastoral landscape, flocks of grazing sheep and goats.  There a truck and a tractor with caterpillar tread at the Jewish settlement of Susya, building the bypass road for the new neighborhood.

We drove to the Palestinian Susya where we heard a positive report on the visit of Meretz activists.

Nasser tells us he saw people taking sand for construction from private land near Susya over which there’s now a legal dispute.  He called the police, they came, picked him up and they went to the site together.  And in fact they found illegal mining: a “partnership” between a settler from Susya and two Palestinian contractors who have an authorized work order from the regional council.  The settler fled when the police arrived; only the Palestinians were arrested.  We also saw five more buildings at Carmel.

Hebron

A bus at the entrance to the Cave of the Patriarchs lets off children kindergarten/first grade children in summer camp, accompanied by kindergarten teachers and an adult in civilian clothes carrying a weapon.

Next to the Cave of the Patriarchs, all along the road to the mosque, stand dozens of helmeted soldiers.  We asked what’s going on; “an exercise,” as a result of which Palestinian passers-by are detained while the Jews continue freely on their way.

In general, there’s less going on in Hebron because of Ramadan and school vacation.