Dura-Al Fawwar Junction, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills
Today is the holiday of Al Adkha
Already in the parking lot on the Israeli side, you can see families, couples and individuals taking advantage of the holiday/vacation and waiting for transportation or rides to Haifa, Acre, Jaffa and especially to the sea, even to Ashkelon. A police vehicle goes in for an inspection and drives around among them. There are relatively few vehicles in the parking lot on the Palestinian side. The soldiers’ position at the end of the forest overlooking the road, still stands.
We decide to visit Farhan Salmin, in Simia.
Four of the children and even 2 grandchildren were at home. I was very excited, because the beginning of my activity in the territories, about 16 years ago, with Machsomwatch and “Combatants for Peace” was at Farhan’s house. His daughter was less than a year old and today she is finishing high school in a year. Beautiful, curious and pleasant. It was especially exciting to meet the family. Today is a holiday and we were lucky to have them at home.
It turns out that Farhan tried to drill in his areas between Yatta and Samu’ in the wadi to find a water well. He managed, he said, to dig quite deep, but the next day, when he came to continue drilling, he found that all the equipment had been stolen. It was a very large sum of money. In addition, there is also the loss of working days of the special drilling equipment, which is not his.
On our way to Al Fawwar, at the entrance to Dahariya from Route 60, we saw many vehicles waiting. This morning, a fatal accident occurred in the Hebron area, and four residents of Dahariya died.
On the way up to Deir Razih, many vehicles are standing next to them, with many young people waiting for the convoy of funeral vehicles. In front of us, the caravan heads south, many hundreds of cars, including 4 PA vehicles for each of the dead. Holiday and sorrow are combined with each other. The caravan continued for many miles as it headed for Dahariya.
Al-Fawwar: The junction is open. There are no soldiers around the square except in the pillbox. The convoy of funerals continues to flow from the north.
Dura Al-Fawwar Junction
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Junction on Route 60: west - the town of El Dura, east - the Al Fawwar refugee camp. There is a manned pillbox at the junction. From time to time the army sets up flying checkpoints at the entrance to El Fawwar and Al Dura. Al-Fawwar is a large refugee camp (7,000 inhabitants in 2007) established in 1949 to accommodate Palestinian refugees from Be'er Sheva and Beit Jubrin and environs. There are many incidents of stone-throwing. In the vicinity of the pillbox there are excellent agricultural areas, Farmers set up stalls adjacent to the plots close to the road. In recent months the civil administration has set up dirt embankments thereby blocking access to the stalls, and making it impossible for the farmers to sell their vegetables. Updated April 2021, Michal T.
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Meitar checkpoint / Sansana
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Meitar Checkpoint / Sansana The checkpoint is located on the Green Line and serves as a border crossing between Israel and the West Bank. It is managed by the Border Crossing Authority of the Defense Ministry. It is comprised of sections for the transfer of goods as well as a vehicle checkpoint (intended for holders of blue identity cards, foreign nationals or diplomats and international organizations). Passing of Palestinians is prohibited, except for those with entry permits to Israel. Palestinians are permitted to cross on foot only. The crossing has a DCO / DCL / DCL / DCL (District Coordination Office), a customs unit, supervision, and a police unit. In the last year, a breach has been opened in the fence, not far from the crossing. This breach is known to all, including the army. There does not appear to be any interest in blocking it, probably as it permits needed Palestinian workers without the bureaucratic permits to get to work in Israel. Food stalls and a parking area economy have been created, but incidents of violent abuse by border police have also been recorded. Updated April 2022
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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
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