South Hebron Hills, Susiya

Place:

South Hebron Hills

Susiya

Observers:

Muhammad and Raya Y. (reporting); Translator: Nayanya

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Jun-23-2021

Morning

Blocking roads in Masafer Yatta

Photo:

Raya Yeor

In Susyia we met Wadha, Nasser and Id from Umm alKheir.

In the last three weeks, 5 new outposts have been built in each section of the southern Hebron Mountains, with tents and fencing for sheep:

A sheepfold near Zanuta.

Near Tuba.

Near Sima'a.

Between Carmel and Maon - foundations were laid for a winery

Near Avigail

The method works in the following way as it did yesterday near Abigail: a settler arrives from the settlement Mitzpe Yair area with sheep belonging to him and settles in the fields of the Palestinians. The shepherd set up a tent to provide shade for his flock. The tent was attached to an old bus that had been thrown into the area by settlers a few days earlier. In this way, the settlers take over the area and establishes facts on the ground.

The Civil Administration info-icon received photos and information, the lawyer on behalf of the Palestinians sent a message to the administration and a reply was received that the administration will handle the application as soon as possible. We will report from the field.

Blockages in Masafer Yatta:

* Between Halet Alzabia and close to Umm Fakara

* In the road connecting Masafer Yatta to Yatta itself pits were dug to block the road. Every 30 meters a barrier was placed that went as far as two kilometers.

* Main water line was cut to 12 villages. The last time the pipe was cut, residents were told the water line had been cut by mistake. Now the residents asked to be careful not to cut the pipe. Unfortunately in the last excavation, just before the soldiers finished the blocking work, the pipe was damaged and they left the place quickly. The feeling is that the pipe was intentionally.

A complaint has been sent.

On the way, we watched a National Social Security trailer arrive at outposts in the southern Hebron Mountains to take care of the needs of the Jews.

Occupation routine

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-10-2024

Muhammad D.

Sa'ir - Yael and Ahmad

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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.