Hebron, a city of 200,000 under routine attack by 400 settlers and the 2,200 soldiers appointed to "protect" them. Everything in the occupation is magnified here: settlers have annexed areas of the old city making it off-limits to many locals that used to live and work there. Netting is hung above the markets to catch trash thrown down by settlers in the rapidly expanding complexes above. Soldiers stand by as settlers throw rocks at children going to school, insisting the soldiers' job is to protect the settlers, not the Palestinians (which means they would retaliate if Palestinians tried to defend themselves). In 1994, a fundamentalist settler Baruch Goldstein walked into the main mosque with a machine gun and brutally massacred 29 Palestinians (plus injuring 100 more). The terrorist waited until the worshippers had their heads to the ground in prayer, and then opened fire on them. After the massacre, the Palestinians in Hebron were put under curfew for an entire month. The settlers were allowed to roam freely shortly after: a typical incident of punishing Palestinian victims to prevent violence because it's easier than placing restrictions on settlers.
Tel Rumeida |
The Old Market |
Tomb of Abraham |
Visiting a Family |
|
|
|
|