The Strangling of Hebron

HEBRON - NOVEMBER 1, 2015

I haven’t gone to Hebron during this trip, and a group of 6 British women “on holiday” were advised not to go Saturday because it had been declared a day of mourning, including the funeral for 5 recently killed Hebronites.  Instead, three of the women went with me to hear a talk by a human rights activist from Hebron, Ahmad Jaradat.  He concurred with the advice not to go to his city on that day.  The atmosphere would most certainly be charged with grief and anger, and bring hundreds of mourners and enraged young men to the streets.  They would be protesting the unjustified killings by the Israeli army and settlers and the fact that the bodies had been withheld for several days from their families as punishment - which is illegal under international law.  The funeral march to the cemetery would be followed by the inevitable strone- throwing by some of the young men, and the Israeli army would respond with live fire and tear gas. 

During October the repessive measures taken by the Israeli army against young protesters have increased in intensity and lethality: 70 Palestinians were killed, many of them without provocation. New weaponry is being tested: rapid firing tear gas guns so that no one can escape the barrage of gas, and protesters are unable to grab the canisters and throw them back at the soldiers; and new chemicals are in the gas, akin to pepper spray.

Captured on video are close-range shootings of non-threatening people, a jeep running over a protester who is then beaten and forbidden medical attention, threats to tear gas an entire refugee camp until all its residents die, etc.  All of these things have happened in the past, but now it is every day, and thanks to video cameras is being documented for all the world to see and for Israel to have to justify.

The talk by Ahmad Jaradat included a lot of the basics I already knew but are worth hearing again, along with some statistics and updates. However, he started by expressing a widely held Palestinian demand:  it doesn’t matter if you have one state or two states  - and everyone knows too states are no longer possible - as long as you recognize the Right of Return. (No politicians can negotiate away the fundamental right of refugees to return to their homeland. For those who say this is a non-starter because Israel won’t allow it, they should be aware that it is the start for any lasting peace in the region.) Ahmad added to this preface the observation that the Jewish Israeli settlements were conceived from their inception in 1967 as the means to take land away from Palestine until there would be no more Palestine.

Hebron is a district that covers 21% of the West Bank and has a population of one million, while the city itself has 170,000. Historically, it is the industrial center of Palestine, with stone being a major resource. However, this potential prosperity has been decimated by Israel dividing the city into two distinct areas, H-1 and H-2. in order to allow settlers to live in the center of the city. 

While the whole city should be in Area A - under complete Palestinian control according to the Oslo Accords, H-2 was re-zoned to be Area C where Israel is in complete control.  It includes the Old City and hundreds of small shops.  Although the shops have long been shuttered by order of Israel, 50,000 Palestinians still live there.

Why have the shops been shuttered?  Because a group of radical settlers,  inserted itself into the center of the city, taking over apartments they claimed were long ago inhabited by Jews.  This nucleus has grown to 600, and is protected by an army force of 2,000 soldiers.  They are aggressive, full of venom towards Palestinians, and violent. Interestingly, these Jews are mainly from the United States.  Their presence has resulted in the placement of 33 “security” checkpoints within the city, some are manned by soldiers, others are fences and cement blocks that close off streets.  As you can imagine, such an infrastructure is not conducive to commerce,  to the psychological well-being of the native residents, nor to getting to school, work, medical appointments, meetings, celebrations or funerals.

Which brings us to the present eruption of violence and funerals and more violence. Until a few days ago (October  21)  a few families refused to move out of the two neighborhoods most coveted by the settlers.  They stood their ground against daily attacks on their persons and houses, refusing to give in to fear, refusing to leave their homes.  But one the leaders determined to stay,  Hassem al-Azzeh, a 54 year old physician, died of tear gas inhalation trying to cross a check point to reach a doctor for his chest pains. Now the future of his neighborhood is in doubt.  Already the Israeli army has gone door to door to tell each household they are not allowed to have any visitors that are not family.  Everyone must register with the army and prove they live in the neighborhood.This will exclude international supporters who regularly visit these families. And the army has closed all but one entrance to each neighborhood where they stand guard and check each person’s identity card. One resident told an international activist, “For the people living in the area, it will become like a prison. For people living in Hebron, the closure of Tel Rumeida will mean that the city will be split in two.”

About 5 years ago I was in the home of Hassem upon the occasion of his daughter’s 15th birthday.  I remember having to climb over several obstacles thrown by settlers onto the walkway leading to the house.  In spite of this threatening behavior, Hassem and his wife insisted on having a birthday party and inviting guests.  Now he is dead. Dead because an ambulance could not get close to his house due to similar barriers erected in the roads by settlers, necessitating that he try to walk to where one might be able to pick him up.  Dead because the route to help was full of tear gas.

Being designated Area C, schools in H-2 cannot add classrooms to their schools, and families cannot add rooms to accommodate new members.  Nor can they repair old homes.  Permits are required for all construction, but Israel does not issue permits to Palestinians.  Such are the  fruits of the Oslo Accords, basically a death sentence for Palestine.  Area C comprises 60% of the West Bank, mostly agricultural land and small villages, but also central Hebron -  because there are settlers there.  And to protect the settlers, 22 military posts have been placed atop Palestinian homes in this area.  This is the matrix of control, where almost every move one makes is governed by a law meant to restrict, forbid and disrupt. 

This is the immediate context for the violence, the fear and the anger erupting in Hebron these days.  Twenty from Hebron are among the 70 killed since the start of the repression and resistance on October 3rd. But the larger context which is fueling the youth who throw stones is the Isaeli military occupation, now in its 48th year, which has robbed them of hope for a better future.