House demolitions in South Hebron Hills

Place:

Sansana (Meitar Crossing)

South Hebron Hills

Susiya

Tags:

House Demolition

Observers:

Ariela and Muhammad. Translator: Natanya

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Dec-8-2020

Morning

The external wall of Abu Safi's home

Photo:

Ariela Slonim

A drawing by Abu Safi's daughter

Photo:

Ariela Slonim

A drawing by Abu Safi's daughter

Photo:

Ariela Slonim

At the Meitar checkpoint, the parking lot is full as if there is no corona. On Route 317 a bulldozer is driving in front of us on its way to destroy or to make a barricade. Before the settlement of Asael, we notice vehicles parked on the road, probably for demolition operations. The target for demolition appears to be the water facility located at the top of the hill.

On the way we arrived at Wadi Radayim whose translation of the name into Hebrew is "The Falling Stones" and arrived at a no-home, Abu Safi's house, following a phone call from him to Muhammad about an unpleasant visit by a settler named Israel. The settler goes down with his herds to the plots of the families who live there and destroys the agricultural crops.

I liked the mirror hanging on a wall outside Abu Safi's house. It is very deceptive, but maybe it hangs there because it is the only sight-seeing place that exists in the compound.

As I was walking towards the house I met Rania, 20, one of Abu Safi's daughters. When she saw that I was from MachsomWatch she ran home and came back with her portfolio that left me speechless. According to her father, she never studied painting. I pass a few photos of her paintings. About one the pictures above I asked her if she was angry when she drew them and she replied that she was very angry. When I asked her if she would like to study, she pointed with her hand at the house and said nothing.

I keep thinking about Rania and many other talented young people and that the barrier they face is much higher than all the barriers and concrete blocks we report.

We continued from there to another family living in Wadi, the family of Ahmad Abdullah Zarir. The settler Israel also visited him with his herd and came right to the door of his house.

In the background you can see the separation fence and some pine trees, a reminder of the JNF that cared for the area until 2007, when the separation fence was erected.

On the way home we received a report from Nasser that the water tank we saw next to the steel monster had been confiscated.

Preventing water from reaching humans and animals is a crime that it is difficult to just report on and go on to our daily affairs

Location Description

Yata / Southern Hebron hills

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Yatta is a city located in the South Hebron Hills region. It is located in the border zone between the fertile area of Hebron and its surroundings and the desert of the Hebron Hills. Yatta has about 64,000 inhabitants. The surrounding villages are called Masafar 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, a number of 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 the withholding of 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. Road blocks 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

רהווה - ככה חיה משפחת אבו שארח' ברהווה בוואדי למרגלות ההתנחלות טנא עומרים

Apr-25-2024

Michal Tsadik

Rahwa - this is how the Abu Sharakh family lives in the Wadi at the foot of the Tene Omarim settlement

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Meitar

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Susiya

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The Palestinian area lies between the settlement of Susya and a military base.
The residents began to settle in areas outside the villages in the 1830s and lived in caves, tents and sukkot. To this day they maintain a traditional lifestyle and their livelihood is based on agriculture and herding. Until the 1948 war, the farmers cultivated areas that extended to the Arad area. As a result of the war, a significant portion of their land left on the Israeli side was lost. After the 1967 war and the Israeli occupation, military camps were established in the area, fire zones and nature reserves were declared, and the land area was further reduced.

The Jewish settlement in Susya began in 1979. Since then, there has been a stubborn struggle to remove the remains of Palestinian residents who refuse to leave their place of birth and move to nearby town Yatta. With the development of a tourist site in Khirbet Susya in the late 1980s (an ancient synagogue), dozens of families living in caves in its vicinity were deported. In the second half of the 1990s, a new form of settlement developed in the area - shepherds' farms of individual settlers. This phenomenon increased the tension between the settlers and the original, Palestinian residents, and led to repeated harassment of the residents of the farms towards the Palestinians. At the same time, demolition of buildings and crop destruction by security forces continued, as well as water and electricity prevention. In the Palestinian Susya, as in a large part of the villages of the southern Hebron Mountains, there is no running water, but the water pipe that supplies water to the Susya Jewish settlement passes through it. Palestinians have to buy expensive water that comes in tankers. Solar electricity is provided by a collector system, installed with donation funds. But the frequent demolitions in the villages do not spare water cisterns or the solar panels and power poles designed to transfer solar electricity between the villages.

Updated April 2021, Anat T.

Sansana (Meitar Crossing)

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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 (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