Apartheid in the heart of Hebron
Last week Israel announced that the heart of Hebron would henceforth be a separate municipality directly governed by Israel’s Civil Administration. There are about 700 extremist Israeli settlers currently living in a few compounds in the center of the city protected by the Israeli military. While this disruptive and provocative presence has been ongoing for more than two decades, the decision to formally sever Hebron into two cities was profoundly unsettling, though not entirely unexpected.
Twenty-two years ago, I wrote down my observations of what was happening in Hebron-in an effort to convey how Israeli policies were cruelly impacting daily life. At the time, I was one of the leaders of a project launched by Vice President Gore working to support the “peace process” by growing the Palestinian economy. The year was 1995. The glow of Oslo had not yet gone out, but it was dimming. I visited Hebron last week [June 5, 1995] and left profoundly disturbed by what I saw. Daily life there is far removed from the peace process. Palestinians in that city are forced to endure debilitating economic pressures and harsh repressive military control.
More than one year after the massacre at the AlIbrahim mosque, the nearly 300,000 residents of the Hebron district are still suffering from the consequences of that horrific act. Baruch Goldstein [the Jewish terrorist who committed the massacre] is being celebrated as a hero [his grave in the nearby settlement of KiryatArba has become a pilgrimage site] and the Israeli military is providing extensive security for the extremist settlers who live in the heart of Hebron and in large settlements that border the city.
In order to protect the 300 Jewish settlers who have illegally seized three large buildings in various parts of the center of town, the Israeli military has deployed over 1,000 heavily-armed soldiers. They have closed off major streets including large sections of Hebron’s souq [the central market]. As a result, Arabs may no longer drive through Hebron. Instead they must travel all the way around the perimeter of the city.
One dozen newly constructed metal gates provide the Israeli military with the ability to shut down the entire city center, at will. The scene in this once bustling souq area of Hebron is simultaneously frightening and depressing. Where thousands of Palestinians once strolled and shopped, there are now empty streets, many closed shops (some remain almost defiantly open, but no one comes to buy anything).
Few Arabs can be seen, only the children of Jewish settlers playing in the street or harassing those Arabs who still work in the center of their city, and Israeli soldiers and civilian settlers. Hebrew graffiti abounds on the walls of Arab shops: stars of David, and Hebrew slogans reading “Death to the Arabs” and “Goldstein is our Hero.” The settlers’ children have free reign to play, to harass, and to deface Arab properties.
The stress that this environment places on Hebron, a city of over 120,000 people, is obvious. It is equally disruptive to the well-being of the additional 150,000 Palestinians who live in the neighboring towns and villages.
To protect the settlers traveling from the nearby settlement of KiryatArba, the Israeli military has established numerous checkpoints and closed side roads. The situation is absurd. Residents from two Palestinian villages with combined populations of 30,000 can no longer drive the short distance into Hebron to shop and visit relatives and friends. The road they would have taken has been cut by military blockades at two points, roughly 50 meters apart. Arabs driving from the villages must park on one side, walk to the next barricade where they can take a taxi into Hebron. On their return, they must reverse this same process.
The checkpoints are even more disturbing. On a virtually deserted road, a row of Arab cars wait at a checkpoint while young Israeli soldiers sit under an umbrella ignoring them. The drivers bake in the sun for 10 minutes or more as the Israeli’s decide, on a whim, to let one pass and then, many minutes later, to let another pass. Holding them and letting them pass - for no reason other to demonstrate that they are in control.
Violence is a part of everyday life in Hebron. While shootings of Palestinians were a frequent occurrence, an Israeli human rights organization recently reported that the Israeli military has apparently changed tactics and now uses random beatings to make their point. The report documents hundreds of beatings per month. The reasons given by the soldiers for the beatings range from punishment for illegal parking to “just having fun.”
There are other examples of the violence visited upon Hebron. One night, a month ago, while the city was in the midst of a six-week long curfew, the Israeli military massacred over 100 of the city’s dogs.