Recently I spent a little while, just a visit, to the Hebron area of Tel Rumeida. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more surreal, messed up and profoundly distressing place than this. In case you are interested, I have tried to summarise, very basically, what the situation is like there. I have borrowed quite extensively from the Tel Rumedia Project website which obviously has more detail about all of this:
1. Hebron/al Khalil/Hevron is a city in the south of the West Bank region of occupied Palestine. It is a holy city to both Muslims and Jews, as it is the site of the tomb of Abraham, big Daddy of the monothesiastic family. In 1967 the city was invaded by Israeli forces and today the city remains divided into two sections.
2. Section 1 is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and is a bustling, alive, modern city, filled with market stalls, Arabic music blasted from cheap speakers, kids on bikes. The people there are among the friendliest I encountered while in Palestine, always welcoming, always excited to see you there.
3. Section 2, which incorporates the old city and the area called Tel Rumeida, is administered and patrolled by the Israeli army and police force. Before the intifada about 30,000 Palestinians lived in this area, alongside 400 Israeli settlers of the most extremist and violent persuation. These settlers are protected by the constant presence of somewhere between 2000 and 4000 soliders. Hebron is unique among Palestianian cities in that it has Israeli checkpoints within the central city area, through which Arab residents must pass on a daily basis, leaving them subject to constant arbitrary detention while their identification is checked. Residents are also subject to home raids, curfews, the takeover of their homes as observation posts, and the soldiers’ often indiscriminate violence. Only Jews are allowed to drive on the streets in this area, which they do very enthusiastically and loudly in very large vehicles. All Palestinian families living in the area must park their vehicles outside the neighborhood and walk home carrying all their groceries, appliances, and furniture to their homes. Oh, and what else are civillian settlers allowed to do (and do do, almost without exception) in this significantly tense area? Oh, that's right - carry very large guns. Sounds like a good idea to me.
4. Many Palestinian families were literally forced to create new routes to access their homes when their normal paths became permanently obstructed due to their proximity to the settlement. Some of the Palestinian families in Tel Rumeida are only able to access their homes by climbing through fields, over walls, under trees, and up rickety ladders. Even then, settlers sometimes wait to stone them as they climb to their homes. This dangerous and physically demanding route has made it impossible for older members of Tel Rumeida families to continue to live in the neighborhood, forcing them to move in with extended family members. Pregnant women in the area are also particularly vulnerable to the physical strains of such routes.
5. While the main street of Tel Rumeida is merely two hundred metres or so from the throbbing main circle of Hebron, no shops can exist at all within the area. Palestinian businesses have been squeezed out of Tel Rumeida and their metal doors and shutters graffitied and literally welded shut by the settlers.
6. Settler graffiti you may see in Hebron: "Gas the Arabs!" "Die Arab Sand-Niggers!" "Watch Out Fatima-We Will Rape All Arab Women!" and "Exterminate The Muslims!"
7. Frequently (as in, almost daily) these settlers stone and attack Tel Rumeida residents, break the windows of their homes, destroy their water pipes, and cut electricity lines. Settlers shoot residents’ water tanks, destroy their grapevines and olive trees, and throw trash into their yards, and on their heads as they walk in the street below. The Palestinian municipality workers hired to make repairs to these homes have been attacked so frequently by the settlers that they now refuse to come to Tel Rumeida. On rare occasions, the Israeli army escorts these municipality workers to protect them from settlers’ violence, and then repairs are possible.
8. When a group of Israeli kids approach (even the ones aged 6 or 7, the ones who still cry when they trip on the street) the Palestinian kids will run and hide in their houses. It is the settler children who are the most consistent and least restrained in their attacks, particularly against Arab children and the international observers who they know will not respond with violence.
9. In most cases, upon incidents being reported, the Israeli police arrive more than an hour late or simply never come at all. If soldiers see incidents of harrassment very often they do nothing to stop it, or make only the most token and minimal effort. The Israeli police forces’ refusal to act against settler violence contributes to the lawless character of this neighborhood, giving settlers the confidence that they can operate with impunity. In response to a increasingly violent environment before and after the Gaza disengagement, the Israeli military has openly stated that they do not want to inflame the settlers during the period leading up to the disengagement, preferring to take a hands-off approach in dealing with the settlers’ criminal behavior.
10. Despite these inhuman conditions, the Palestinian families of Tel Rumeida continue to refuse to leave their homes. A number of human rights and international solidarity groups have committed themselves to maintaining a constant international presence in the city to monitor the situation and offer support to the Palestinian community by watching checkpoints, walking children to school and document cases of violence and harrassment. And this was my reason for being in Hebron.
11. The other day one the greatest friends I made in my time in Palestine, David from Canada, was arrested along with three others for refusing to let soldiers take away their passports (as legally, they cannot). The Israeli police force took them to court, asking for them all to be deported from the country, but all were released by the judge, who heavily criticised the police for their actions in the arrest. You can (and totally should) read about it all here on the ISM website, or even here on the website of Haaretz, one of Israel's largest daily newspapers.
12. Another friend of mine, Sarah, compared the whole feeling of the old city area to a World War 2 ghetto. It is a cliche, sure, and she said so herself. But now I have been, and I tell you that this is essentially, upsettingly true. It is a scary place, and I urge you to find out as much as you can about it, because it is absolutely so goddamn important to know about this stuff.
Thankyou for reading. This is the last thing about Palestinian human rights, I promise.
Although with that I really REALLY have to direct you towards the website of B'tselem, an Israel organisation committed to documenting and educating about human rights violations in the occupied territories. They do really important work and they do it well, and I urge you to check out their reports, particularly the responses from the IDF which occur at the end of each document.
Good night & Peace / Salam / Shalom.
