No one lives atop Hill 804. There are no houses. All residents from the nearby West Bank settlement of Shvut Rachel have done, to lay claim to the site, is to place a large shipping container on it, filled with scrap metal and other rubbish.
Yesterday, in the Israeli government's first effort to dismantle a dozen illegally established settlements, that container proved an insurmountable obstacle.
Tipped off that Hill 804 (it rises to 804 metres above sea level) would be the first focus of the planned campaign of dismantlement, a small group of mainly young, mainly Orthodox settlers gathered at the site, laid large stones across the track leading to it, and settled in for a day of prayer, singing and flag-waving. The lorry driver who had been despatched by the settlers' own leadership council, which cut a deal last week with Prime Minister Ehud Barak to evacuate 12 outposts and leave 30 others standing, chose retreat over confrontation, and drove off to return when the settlers, and the media, have moved on.
"We cannot allow a breach of the laws of the Torah," said one settler, invoking the same argument against relinquishing biblical land that was used by Yigal Amir, four years ago, to justify his assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
For the older generation of settler leaders, it was an embarrassment. Pinchas Wallerstein of the Settlers' Council pledged to honour the deal with Mr Barak, "painful though it may be".
AFP reports: An agreement has been reached on opening a "safe passage" road so Palestinians can get from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, an Israeli spokesman said.