Hebron - A ghost town

Soldiers inspect ID cards of local Palestinians at the entrance to the Cave of the Patriarchs

Four Palestinian youth approach two armed guards stationed outside the Cave of the Patriarchs, they set their bags down, one seems to be carrying groceries, they queue up, reach for their ID cards and hold them out for inspection. The guards carefully scrutinise the cards and only then let them enter. A few feet away, at what looks like the main entrance to the holy site, tourist buses come to a halt, pilgrims and visitors disembark leisurely and head towards the main building and there are no visible guards who restrict entry for them.

There are no obvious lines here but you can feel the dense languor of imprisonment in the air. Palestinians can walk down the street to only up to a certain point, the path beyond that is off-limits to Palestinian pedestrians and vehicles. I had read about Hebron before visiting the city and yet, it is only when I saw Palestinians walk down a road and take a diversion while I continued to walk down that very street which was off-limits to them that I understood what apartheid meant.

Welcome to Hebron, a microcosm of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Anatomy of a Ghost Town

I have used the phrase Ghost Town many times in life, all those times it has been only as an over-dramatisation. Mass abandonment of Hebron's city centre since the second Intifada has created a literal Ghost Town here. Strict implementation of a separation and discrimination policy between Israeli settlers and Palestinians has driven Palestinians out of their homes. The claim is that Israeli settlers need protection and the army follows them where they go. This results in heavy restrictions on the movement of Palestinian residents creating what the military calls 'sterile' zones or areas that are rid of Palestinians.

Al-Shuhada Street, once a vibrant market street

Al-Shuhada street was once a bustling market street in the Old City of Hebron. The monotony of the skeletal visage of this street is now interrupted only by Israeli settlers. We cross the army check-post after two armed guards inspect our passports. Houses abandoned by Palestinians stand amidst their crumbling ruins. One of the houses is still occupied, the soldiers call the family residing here 'the mute family', because the family doesn't speak to anyone. Why have they not left their home? Because they can't afford to relocate.

A shop shutter defaced by the star of David

The shop shutters here are defaced by graffiti. Maybe some obscenities that the foreign eye cannot spot, but more importantly an image that is just enough to irk the Palestinians and to send a message to everyone who walks past these shops : the six-pointed star of David. The blue star of David against faded green shutters is an image that reeks of a sense of entitlement and legitimacy that is a product of military occupation. The graffiti becomes more prominent and frequent on streets that are open to Palestinian pedestrians and vehicles.

Call for attention on Al-Shuhada Street

The eerie silence on the street is suddenly broken. I look up, on the other side of a caged window,two young children are bickering, they look at us. I am not sure if I should wave, but I look up and smile anyway. The mother soon removes the children from the window, the shrill screams of the children fade away and we are back to discussing the grim reality of Hebron. Windows and balconies here are heavily grilled to protect Palestinians from settler violence. On one such balcony is a small sign, it reads: CAUTION: This was taken by Israel. You are ____ apartheid.

Sign on a street. In the background is a settler building.

Al-Shuhada street is now a gallery of settler propaganda on the backdrop of the outcome of military occupation. A large sign installed on the road by what looks like the Hebron civic authorities reads: These stores were closed by the IDF for security reasons after the Arabs started the 'Oslo War' (aka The Second Intifada) in 2000, attacking, murdering and wounding Jews on this road. Another goes on to state that 'after the Hebron Agreement was signed, Jews were left with access to only three percent of Hebron and that large thriving commercial and shopping centres are off-limits to Jew and accessible only to Arabs'. To understand the accuracy of this estimate, it is important to recognise everything that comes with a settlement.

Settlements in Hebron

A settlement in the Old City, a part of H2. Cars with Israeli license plates parked on the street.
Israeli flags flutter above shops that are shut

While it is true that settlers homes may be occupying only three percent of Hebron, nearly 20 percent of the city is off-limits to the Palestinians. This 20 percent constitutes various legal, military and administrative rationale exacting limitations on the local residents. For example, around every settlement is a buffer zone that separates the settlers from their Arab neighbours. Settlements are also increasingly eating into Hebron by constantly creating new settlement 'outposts'. These outposts sometimes explicitly defy the Israeli Supreme Court's orders. As they incrementally solidify their presence over what is most often private Palestinian land, the Israeli Government gives in and 'legalises' settlements.

Map of Hebron with restrictions on movement. Source: B'Tselem

Given its significance, the main impetus to live in Hebron is religious, centered around the Cave of the Patriarchs. Settlement outposts here constantly attempt to create a mainline to the holy site. They are also driven by the same 'right of return' for which many Palestine refugees wish. Alluding to the 1929 Hebron massacre, following which homes of Jews were pillaged, settlers demand the right to return to Hebron. Despite the original owners of the abandoned Jewish homes showing no inclination to return, settlers have made it their agenda to take back these areas and houses.

The total population of four settlements in the Old City of Hebron (in H2) is around 800, to protect them the military has deployed more than 500 armed soldiers. About 30,000 Palestinians also live in H2 which is under direct Israeli rule. The Hebron civic authority responds to this disproportionate military presence on its website, it says :

Israeli security forces provide multiple services.
a) They offer protection to Hebron's residents against constant terror threats.
b) They offer protection to over half a million people who visit Hebron annually.
c) They offer protection to Israelis throughout Israel.

Hebron's story is defined by the social dynamic created by the heavy presence of military in an urban area which is slowing being chipped away by a strict separation policy and settler invasion. Beginning with this post and few more I hope to make a comprehensive note on my experience and learning from a visit to Hebron. 

Israel in the words of her people

My foot would never step in the West Bank. (long pause) Because, as an Israeli, I don't think I should be setting foot there. - A 

Life in Tel Aviv is insulated from the despair in the West Bank and Gaza. Discussing the Occupation and polices of Israel towards Palestine is not your common lunch table conversation. When I do discuss all that with an Israeli, my primal instinct as a journalist is to pull out my recorder and pen down notes. To learn about their thoughts on their country gives you a truly different perspective, one that you won't find in the newspapers or in policies framed by the government. 

Last evening's chat with a couple of Israeli friends was profound. 

We began with the contentious topic of Occupation. What is the average Israeli's opinion on the occupation? Pat came the reply from A, "Clearly, no one cares enough. Otherwise, we would have had a solution by now... Everyone thinks that the Arabs deserve what is happening and the current generation is not responsible for what is happening now." At a later point, A pointed out, "In fact, I don't mind Ultra-orthodox people so much. Yeah, they don't serve in the army. They get allowance to have more children. But it is the Settlers with whom I have a problem." According to him, they have a sense of entitlement over the West Bank. "I dread the day when Israel will give West Bank to the Arabs. Only because these Settlers will then become my neighbours. Just imagine!" 

This brought us to the topic of war. A asks me, "Were you here for the 50-day War? If you were not, don't worry, you will witness the next installment soon. Maybe this summer or the next. It is imminent." The Arabs have figured out that Israel will only respond to terror, he says. "Gazans live in abject poverty. The blockade did not help. Their only means of making money is by smuggling goods from Egypt. Israel claimed to be defending itself against attacks from Gaza, when an attack from Gaza cannot cause large-scale terror," says V. 

Conscription carries on...

A says wistfully, "In the early 90s when peace talks were going on, it looked like my nephews and sons may not have to join the army. But then (Yitzak Rabin was assassinated) the talks failed, my nephew served in the 50-day war last summer and he was in the thick of it." The IDF is one of the strongest military forces in the Middle East. It has complete control of the West Bank and exercises that control with impunity. "If the army thinks that Arab children were pelting stones or any such thing, the children can be taken into custody with no access to an attorney with no questions asked until the kids are released," says V. That is the power the military has in the West Bank. Quoting a rather absurd incident, A says, "Do you know about an Israeli university in a West Bank settlement?" I nod, no. "Well, the settlers wanted to upgrade a college to a university, but Israel's Council for Higher Education turned down the proposal because the college did not meet the standards of universities in Israel. But this was in the West Bank! So with the military's approval, they made the college a university. There, you have it." Read more about Ariel University here.

Serving as an air force pilot allowed A to watch Israel and consequently the West Bank develop over the last 20 years from the skies. "When I began flying, the West Bank was a dark place at night. Now though, you can't see the difference between Israeli cities and cities in the West Bank. It is all lit up at night," he says.

A mockingly says, "Why do they even bother with all this development if they have to eventually give it back?" V interrupts, "What makes you think they will give it back?" 

Real estate though has not caught up with Israeli standards in West Bank settlements. One of V's friends knows someone who lives in a West Bank settlement, when V learnt of this, she was surprised. The friend explained, "Well, it is cheaper there." And thus, the apathy grows.

And what about elections? "The Likud party (Netanyahu) has no manifesto.  The Labour party, which is supposed to be the left, identifies with right of the center because they know they cannot get votes if they are leftist..." says A. The Labour party won't talk about peace talks because it does not want to offend anyone, he continues. "Anyway, since Netanyahu is already PM, no one sees any other candidate as a fitting replacement," says B. What about the immigrant population, who do they vote for? "They are typically right wing. Most immigrants in Israel are from former USSR countries. They came here fed up with communism," notes A. Many Jews immigrated to Israel in the 90s after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, "They constituted nearly 20% of the population back then and they mostly end up voting for the right," he says. (The fraction of immigrants still hovers around 20%)

Is there hope for withdrawal from the West Bank, hope for a solution, peace? Is there hope for anything at all, I ask myself.

A state ruling a hostile population of 1.5 to 2 million foreigners would necessarily become a secret-police state, with all that this implies for education, free speech and democratic institutions. -- Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz, The Territories, 1968

I have been trying to dig up material to read/watch and educate myself on the various shades of gray that Israel stands for. This is a documentary that I found compelling.