Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills, Susiya

Place:

Sansana (Meitar Crossing)

South Hebron Hills

Susiya

Observers:

Muhammad and Ariela (reporting and photographing); Translator: Natanya

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May-20-2021

Morning

Rugs for Abu Safi

Photo:

Ariela Slonim

Azam's flowers in bloom again

Photo:

Ariela Slonim

This is the last day of the operation whose name I have already forgotten. According to Muhammad, on that day more workers went to work in Israel than on the other days of the operation. To my surprise, the parking on the Palestinian side was indeed relatively full. He said Palestinians were more afraid of harassment by racist extremists than of missiles.

We saw an army presence along the separation fence.

When we left Lahavim, Muhammad, with his sharp eyes, saw carpets thrown out on the sidewalk and stopped to pick them up to bring them to Abu Safi. Since we were in a vehicle that was not suitable for driving to the house of Abu Safi who lives in a cave, we left the carpets for him next to a power pole that carries electricity to the settlements. Not a minute passed from the time that we had stopped and a security car stopped next to us, two people in uniform inside photographed us and asked to know what we were doing there.

Muhammad inquired later and the rugs did reach their destination.

Israel Kaplan's farm is expanding. I guess he does not have to travel twice a week to fetch water in containers as the Palestinians have to

We went to Susiya to visit Azzam whom I had not seen for a long time. He started working in Israel because apparently his livelihood in Susiya was severely damaged. Now he says he will not return to work in Israel. He told us that one day while working in the Modiin area, a couple of Israelis passed by and looked at the Palestinian workers in a very unpleasant way .On their way back, Azzam who listened to them, heard them say, "How disgusting they are but how well they work." This statement and the police who came to check them several times were enough for Azzam and he decided not to return to work in Israel.

Maybe that's why the flowers in his pots where blooming.

At Azzam we met Ariela and Ehud from The Villages Group who were on their way to visit Harun Abu Aram at the hospital in Hebron. (From this visit until the writing of this report, he was taken to the rehabilitaion hospital Reut in Tel Aviv and donations are needed to pay for this). On the way back under Asael stood an armored police car.

.And at the Meitar checkpoint, the stench as usual

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

Apr-25-2024

Michal Tsadik

Rahwa - the building they have a demolition order on

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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