Hebron II : Settlers and their safety net

Qiriyat Arba can be easily mistaken for a Tel Aviv residential neighbourhood. The architecture of the buildings, the pale yellow Jerusalem-stone walls, shopping centres, and the design and layout of the local park mimic Israeli sensibility. Even the popular Israeli junk food brands are available here. Inside the settlement bubble everything feels the same as Israel, with the one big difference that martial law is applicable here, not civil law.

Qiriyat Arba was established in 1968 by Moshe Levinger and his family on an abandoned army base. Since then, Qiriyat Arba has flourished and reached a population of about 8,000 in 2012. The early settlers, like Levinger, wished to stimulate Jewish settlement in the ancient Biblical heartland of Hebron; to some they were religious zealots. According to an ex-IDF combat soldier, following the peace treaty with Egypt, the drive to settle grew. "Giving up land for peace was not an acceptable option to many."

Since then the demographics of Israeli settlers has changed by a few shades. Some now prefer to live in settlements as real estate is cheap in the settlements. Some settlers work in Jerusalem and some others have government jobs in H2 or nearby towns. "Most of them are not ultra-orthodox Jews. In fact, according to traditional Jews the Messiah will not come if a state is built. Settlers follow a brand of religious Zionism," says the 30-year-old ex-soldier.

Israeli settlers live in a safe bubble that has been created only to protect them

Because settlers live in a conflict zone, they find it very easy to get fire arm licenses. Sometimes these fire arms are issued to them by the army itself to protect the settlement! "Around 12 settlers per settlement get a weapon from the army. These chosen settlers even draw a monthly salary and have access to a military patrolling jeep."

Settlers walking down Al-Shuhada Street

"We are given strict orders to protect the settlers at any cost, even if it is the settler who is the perpetrator," says an ex-soldier. If a settler is seen to be posing a threat, a soldier cannot neutralise the threat by attacking the settler, he has to wait for an opportune moment and disarm the miscreant without resorting at any violent means. "And while we wait to disarm him, he has done enough damage." "I can't shoot at Israeli civilians even if they threaten me. I just can't do anything. We must take cover and wait."

The only time there is hope of some concrete action against the settler is if he is caught in time and red-handed

What else can the soldiers do in case of settler misbehaviour/violence, I ask. "First off, it is not an army problem. We inform our commanding officer, he informs his CO and eventually the police is informed." The police in the West Bank are toothless against the settlers. "They do not take any action because they find it awkward to take action on settlers." Why? "Because these police officers are mostly neighbours of settlers, they can't afford to sour relationships in the community. How can the officer face the settler child's father after arresting him?" Like it is all over the world, police officers in Hebron too do not take any adverse actions against settlers if they want to raise up in the ranks. Sometimes the settlers are able to intervene and protect their friends and children by listening in on the radio frequencies used by the army and police.

To pass confidential messages during the Gaza Disengagement we constantly changed the frequency to ensure that settlers can't listen in on our communications

The rules that apply to settlers are much milder than those that apply to the Palestinians in this land. For example: If two minors, one settler another Palestinian, are caught committing a small crime - the settler kid can be detained for a maximum of 12 hours before he is presented before a judge whereas the Palestinian kid could be detained for at least four days before he sees a military judge. This is a great visual aid to understand the disparity. "After serving in Gaza for a few months I stopped asking why a Palestinian was being detained when I saw one blindfolded."

Some people interpret NEVER AGAIN as : this should not happen to us ever again

"But that is not what it means. It should not happen to anyone ever again. Not that the Holocaust and Occupation are comparable." Between the buffer zones, the leniency towards settlers, repeated attempts to set up outposts, the settlers are making the best of the mess here. "They are doing very well. Settlers want unhindered access to the Cave of the Patriarchs and they relentlessly set up outposts and rebuild outposts which are demolished by the army."

Soldiers check passports and ID-cards of visitors at a check-post

There are 18 check-posts that let Palestinians cross over between H1 and H2. "How do check-posts stop Palestinians from shooting settlers? Though the separation wall and check-posts are set up by sighting the security angle, it is only to control people." A soldier narrates how his compatriots took charge of a school and set up grenade launchers in a classroom during the second Intifada.  "At some point all this crosses a line we draw for ourselves. It seems immoral. Whom are are protecting?"

I don't know the solution. But I know what I have done and I want Israel to stop it 

Army base in H2

True Story: A settler was hanging around inside an H2 military base on a Friday. As the day progressed and inched towards Shabbat, the settler instructed the soldiers to turn off the electricity supply to the main gate of the base. He did not want to break the rules of Shabbat when he went out to pray. The soldiers instead said that they could open the gates for him when he wanted to leave and that an army base can't keep its gates open. The settler disregarded the concerns of the soldiers and just cut the wires that supplied power to the main gates.
The soldiers could of course do nothing.

As I am writing this post, an 18-month old baby was burned to death by Israeli settlers in a town close to Nablus in the West Bank. The settlers dropped bombs inside the house after breaking the windows of the house, setting the house on fire. For details, go here. 

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.