Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills

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Observers: 
Shelley N. (photographing), Yehudit K. (reporting), M.B. (behind the wheel); Translator: Natanya
Feb-28-2018
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Morning

We left Be'er Sheva at 09.45. The Meitar checkpoint is empty at this hour and more so because of the closureinfo-icon for Purim. Road 60 is quite lively. We did not see an army all the way.

We visited our friends A., G. and Sh. Sh. has been fighting for his right to his land for 25 years. He has already experienced the demolition of a house, harassment of settlers from Kiryat Arba and years ago he left the Old City of Hebron because of the harassment. Now, even though his claim is still to be judged in the court,  they came a few days ago and destroyed his plot of land and all its crops, the fruit trees, the olive trees, the fields of beans and spices, cucumbers, turnip and more, not to mention water cisterns and irrigation system.                                                                                                                               

These are 4 dunams within a wider area and the dispute is with the state. Sh. claims that the land belongs to the family.

The workers seem to have been foreign workers. We saw with our own eyes the total destruction, trees torn up by their roots, the tracks of the bulldozer (there was only one). It arrived at 8am. A. says that there were many soldiers or border police (this is not clear). The ground is strewn with vegetables and the wells were contaminated. Someone, an officer or a soldier, told the workers not to leave anything but to pull out all by the roots and even tramped on the vegetables.  As you can see in the pictures it is clear that they destroyed everything methodically and so as to do maximum damage. And so they managed. He insisted that we visit with him all the land and showed us the damage one by one.

From a humane point of view it is enough to break the heart and from the pollical point of view it is clear that every attempt is being made to leave no option of any kind of decent living for the Palestinians. It is also noteworthy that this week also the crops of the Bedouin in the Negev have been destroyed.

We came back to Beersheva at 13.30 with no other occurrences. All along the way we saw only two army cars, one at Beit Hagai and one at the crossroads of road 60.