In Hebron

Hebron, to me, is the most obvious site of Apartheid in the West Bank. It’s tense. Very very tense. In so many other places in the West Bank, I heard stories of hope and prayers for peace. In Hebron, however, every corner brings another check point. Another soldier. Another weapon. Another settler-only road. Another barrier to living a simple life.

This is Hebron.

The old city market that used to be full, but is now empty because side streets have been cut off.

The settlers have built their homes above this market, and drop their trash down on the Palestinians, forcing them to cover the market to avoid being hit. Some of the Palestinian goods get covered by egg yolk (photo in center) and trash.

Side streets of the market are now completely shut off. Settlers have been known to enter the markets, knock goods off the shelves, break into Palestinian shops, etc.

A settler-only road (there are 12km’s of settler-only roads, causing Palestinians to drive 15-20km around, just to go 1-2km away, in some cases), Shuhada Street, where settlers may stroll, but Palestinians are forbidden.

While on the rooftop of the Christian Peacemaking Teams HQ, we were informed by a teenaged IDF soldier that we were not to be on the roof, but that we could look outside only from the window. This was arbitrary and invented on the spot.

Front doors that lined this street have been welded shut by the IDF and the citizens are forced to climb neighbor’s rooftops to enter their own homes through the back.

What used to be the main bus station of Hebron, is now an annexed military compound for the thousands of soldiers “protecting” the few hundred illegal settlers. The old bus station is to the left, but one is not prohibited to take a picture of it directly.

This is the Ibrahimi Mosque, the site of a 1994 massacre, that left 29 dead, and 125 wounded. The bullet holes are still there.

Up until a year ago, there was a 3-foot wall down this road (lines of barrier still shown), designating sides- one for settlers, one for Palestinians. Apartheid at it’s finest.

This is life in Hebron.