Hebron, South Hebron Hills
10:45 – 13:00
We started late, intending to reach Hebron when school gets out to see whether the Jewish pupils on vacation are bothering Palestinian pupils on their way home.
Highway 60
The southern gate to Hebron at the Beit Haggai junction is open. An Israeli police car is parked there, the officers checking documents of people travelling to Hebron in Palestinian vehicles. We saw no delays.
At the entrance to Hebron from Kiryat Arba we saw children coming home from school – do they get out early because it’s exam time? The school gates
were locked by the time we arrived.
TIPH police keep order at Curve 116; the checkpoint is closed and deserted.
Beit HaMeriva is still shut; we drove around it, slightly confusing the soldier in the observation post on the roof.
The Cave of the Patriarchs is surrounded by buses carrying Israelis who’d come to pray. The area is quiet. The western crossing, for Palestinians and non-Jewish tourists, recently opened. No more metal barriers but a broad, open road, but we didn’t see any tourists there.
The Pharmacy and Tarpa”t checkpoints are empty; the streets are also pretty empty at this hour.
The Shayuch Sa’ir junction – the school there is also closed and the junction is deserted. We see signs that roadworks will begin. Maybe they’ll finally construct a plaza that will allow pedestrians to cross the road more easily?
Highway 35 to Tarqumiyya – empty and deserted.
We passed through the Tarqumiyya checkpoint smoothly, without delays.