HEBRON: Hell on Earth for Palestinians

by William Thomas and Vince Stravino

We saw the colorful painted words on the wall (with white doves above them) in front of a school in Hebron: “FREE PALESTINE.” On closer examination, we noticed that someone had tried to whitewash those words with paint, but the message still is visible. This was our welcome to the largest Palestinian city in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Both of us were part of a 12-day sojourn to Israel and Palestine, sponsored by Interfaith Peace-Builders whose “mission is to give U.S. citizens the opportunity to see and understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict firsthand and to empower these citizens to educate their local communities and advocate for better US foreign policy when they return to the US.”

As we walked through Hebron, we encountered numerous Israeli military checkpoints with young soldiers, part of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). How did it occur that this once beautiful old city is now a walled-in-fortress, dying economically, and a virtual “ghost city?” One has to relate the actions of a Jew from Brooklyn, Baruch Goldstein, who had emigrated to Israel (called “aliyah,” the right of any Jew to return to their “homeland”). The Israeli state, on the other hand, has long rejected UN Resolution 194 (1948) which calls for the right of return for Palestinians who were driven from their homes, villages, and cities in 1947-48. Yet, Goldstein, as so many other immigrant Jews, received financial assistance to move to a new Israeli settlement adjacent to Hebron. According to the International World Court, the UN, and the Geneva Conventions, such settlements are illegal as they steal land that rightfully belongs to Palestinians.

This Jewish doctor from Brooklyn, Goldstein, decided in 1994 to go Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque and visit the Tomb of the Patriarchs, where it is alleged that Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca, and Sarah are all buried within a cave below. Apparently, Mr. Goldstein had decided that the Palestinians whom he saw as “dirty, filthy, uncivilized non-humans,” (“Arabs”) must be taught a lesson. So, he went into the mosque with a high-powered rifle and killed 29 Muslims, while wounding over 200. And he, in turn, was killed by Palestinians who rushed into the mosque while this extremist settler was reloading. Today, he is revered by many as a martyr and his grave is visited by many Jews who acknowledge him as one of Israel’s true heroes.

Our Palestinian guide, Issa, told us that following the massacre, the Israeli military imposed a curfew in Hebron and immediately set up numerous checkpoints, including the one that is vital to providing access to the heart of Palestinian commerce and trade. It is called Shuhada Street but Palestinians call it “Apartheid Street.” In addition to the checkpoints, the Israelis have placed large concrete barriers blocking auto traffic and even 10-foot high barbed-wire fences which cordon off smaller side streets. About 600 very fanatical ideological Jews are settled within the heart of Hebron and it is here (and in the areas around nearby Israeli settlements) that violence against Palestinians is, arguably, the most heinous in the occupied Palestinian territories (the proper term used by the UN for West Bank lands).  

Issa explained that these 600 Jewish settlers who are protected by Israeli police and IDF, dictate how some 35,000 Palestinians may live, move, conduct business, and how they are forced to only walk on designated streets. Having to traverse such routes means they often have to leave 30 or more minutes early to arrive on time at their schools, clinics, houses, or to visit family members and friends. Downtown Hebron is nearly dead, economically. Walking the often deserted, littered streets, we saw only a few local youths and numerous heavily armed, bored-looking young IDF conscripts at checkpoints and riding about in jeeps. We did, however, bring a small measure of joy to some young Palestinian children by distributing five soccer balls purchased in Hebron. The youngsters were so very happy to receive such highly prized items!

And, yet, despite the Israeli settlers’ verbal and physical attacks against Palestinians, which are well-documented via photos and film, one Muslim Hebron resident told us: “My dream is to live in peace with all people, including Jews, in a democratic, single state.” We learned that the Arab residents of Hebron, mostly Muslim, have used and still employ techniques of non-violent resistance to the now 44-year long military occupation that has resulted in creating a near ghost town -- Hebron.

We discovered that our guide Issa was arrested several years ago and fined 2000 shekels for trying to prevent the closing of some shops in the old market. While Issa is one of the leaders of “Youth Against Settlements,” we found him to be a studious young man, reserved, knowledgeable, and soft-spoken, though he walked with a cane due to a beating by the IDF. We saw with our own eyes how the IDF have literally welded shut many of the shops’ latches so that it is now physically impossible for Palestinians to openly display their wares! Following the massacre, Israeli military orders had forced more than 500 shops in the city center to close.

 While walking through the old market, we observed as we looked above our heads some Israeli flags that flew from windows in houses that overlooked the market. A number of Jewish families had bribed some Palestinians to sell property while other Israelis had obtained eviction notices since owners of Palestinian houses had not obtained the required permits from the government to build additions to their homes. Thus, we saw Israeli flags flying above the passageways that led through the old market. We also observed the netting that was placed over the streets in the market. This heavy wire mesh (see photo) is designed to protect Palestinians from being hit with bottles, bricks, chairs, and other debris that the settlers routinely throw down upon any persons who take this route while shopping in a very limited area of old Hebron. In addition, Hebron residents must place wire meshing over their windows to protect them from armed settlers who walk by and throw rocks that would shatter the windows without such protection. Incidentally, Palestinians with houses on Shuhada Street are not allowed to walk on this street. In 2000, the IDF sealed the front doors of these homes and shops in the name of “security,” requiring Palestinians in these houses to find alternative routes through other houses or via their rooftops in order to access their own community.   

Many of the merchants whose shops were welded shut have moved away as they have no way to display their goods or no way to easy access to another location because of the blocked off streets. Business, therefore, has slowed to a trickle as nearly a thousand more have closed their shops. No access, no business.  

We IFPB delegates learned that Israeli settlers verbally harass and sometimes, physically attack Palestinians, including school children who walk to school. Thank goodness for members of Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) and International Solidarity Movement people (ISM) who often act as escorts for the children and provide protection. We met a gutsy pair of CPT who documented the many human rights abuses inflicted by settlers who have taken over much of Hebron and nearby lands. Within one month after we returned home, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that two of the CPT staff were assaulted while attempting to video record an attack on Palestinian shepherds by Israeli settlers. Moreover, we learned from Issa that Anna, a German national, was attacked and beaten as was George, a Greek International, and even a disabled Palestinian child.

All this occurred in this “Hell on Earth” city. Americans should be outraged to discover that when Palestinians are being attacked, beaten, even shot, the IDF usually looks the other way. This is the military that our tax dollars are supporting.  

Who supports these settlers? One major donor is the Hebron Fund (a 501.c.3 organization) which collects monies (tax-free) to maintain and support Hebron settlers and those who live in adjacent areas. To view a glimpse of the injustices we have described, we recommend going to www.Openshuhadastreet.org . Moreover, the photos that accompany this article show what we have mentioned: the netting over the passageways in the old market and the concrete blocks that are examples of resistance.    

Our IFPB group was allowed to walk on Shuhada Street, which is well-kept and refurbished by money from the Clinton administration with the stipulation that it must be shared by all citizens of Hebron. However, the water and electricity which were supposed to serve both the Hebron settlers and the residents of the Old City are no longer available to the Palestinians. Contrary to the agreement (the Hebron Protocol), when we were there in June, Shuhada Street was closed to all traffic except for the military and settlers. There are still some Palestinians clinging to their homes on Shuhada Street, but they have had to cover their windows with heavy reinforced screens to provide protection from religious zealots in Hebron. 

We questioned if settler damage is ever reported to the Israeli occupying authority and Issa told us that attacks by settlers on native Palestinians are rarely investigated, even if these attacks result in serious injury or death. We conclude by stating that the oppressive Israeli policy that we witnessed firsthand does little or nothing for Israel’s security, but, instead, has the opposite effect of inciting anger and encouraging insurgency among Palestinians. So many of the ideological settlers carry US weapons which have been used to terrorize or kill Palestinian families. Settlers also cut down olive trees, poison Palestinians’ animals, as well as their water supplies, and fields.

Help to bring peace and justice to Israel/Palestine. Get involved. Do your own research such as visiting the websites of UN OCHA, UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs; B’tselem, Israeli Information Center for Human Rights ( www.btselem.org ); If Americans Knew (www.ifamericansknew.org ); Ha’aretz, Israeli Newspaper; The Jerusalem Post, Israeli Newspaper; and ICHAD, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions ( www.icahd.org ).  

Finally, we believe it is in Israeli’s best interest that people worldwide support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaign (BDS). We say take the profit out of Illegal Occupation and support the nonviolent international movement to pressure the government of Israel with a tactic that aided the collapse of South African Apartheid. For additional information on this campaign, go to www.BDSmovement.net

Will Thomas lives in New Hampshire, where he had a lifelong career as an educator, teaching US History and American Government.  Since 1989, he has been an active member of Veterans for Peace and creates awareness for this organization. Will is a vocal and productive activist for many causes related to human rights, fairness and justice.