In an abandoned place Occupied Palestinian territoriesA hell like the one in Gaza is approaching. October 7 was also the beginning of the violent attack against thousands of Palestinians. Hebron He hasn’t seen the end yet. That day, the Israeli Army gave an order. curfew in 11 neighborhoods in the H2 district of this holy Palestinian city, 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem. Since then, thousands of people, some 750 families, are locked in their homes under constant threat from soldiers and settlers. “It’s hard to live like this, but that’s what they want, to make us feel bad and let’s get out of our homes for radical Jews to take over,” he condemned. Ahmed AzzaHe is 24 years old and a native of the besieged neighborhood. Tel Rumeida. “We will not leave,” argues this barista, who lives on the outskirts of the illegal settlement built on the hill.
“Hebron has always been the most obvious example of this. Apartheid regime He condemned the “sanctions imposed by Israel on the occupied West Bank” Dror SadotSpokesperson of the Israeli organization B’Tselem. The city of Al Jalil, whose name is Arabic, was already a pressure cooker before October 7. Since 1997 some 215,000 Palestinians They are forced to live with 850 radical Jewish settlers under the protection of 650 Israeli soldiers. Only 15% of the West Bank’s largest city ruled by Israelbut this makes it one of the most tense areas of all the occupied territories. “No other Palestinian city is populated by radical settlers,” Sadot tells El Periódico de Catalunya of the Prensa Ibérica group.
But in recent weeks these colonialists They reinvented themselves. “Now, [el ministro de Seguridad Nacional] Itamar Ben Gvir “He gave them weapons and uniforms,” Azza explains to this newspaper. “They knock on my door three or four times every day, now it’s like military members“To tell them that they can’t protect us and that it would be better if we go,” adds this young man, as if they were not protected at all. express order not to intervene When settlers use violence against Palestinians. There 10 checkpoints In the middle of the ghost streets that are tearing the city apart and destroying its economy. Before October 7, these positions were the borders of the prison where they had lived for 26 years. Bars are now erected at the entrance doors of houses.
“It needs to be underground”
“Today we living in a pretty big prison“, to recognise Bassam Abu Aisha. This 60-year-old taxi driver can’t help but travel to the past, to an existence without him. borders on the streetsTo talk about the present tense. “So this ID,” he says, referring to his ID card, “I had it in my pocket 24 hours a day.” As a headman, or leader of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood, he had to participate in the defense of his neighbors on many occasions. More than ever in recent weeks. “I should have been underground by now,” he admits. A few days ago, a young soldier pointed his rifle at his wrinkled forehead and when he fired, the bullet got stuck in the barrel. “We live one hell life“, agrees El Periódico de Catalunya.
After being trapped in their homes for two weeks, food began to run out, water was scarce, and medicines were missing. The desert landscape was getting worse every day. Those who were away from the neighborhood when the curfew was imposed and had to find a place to sleep for days, like Ahmad Azza, were already feeling this situation. those who abuse generosity from homeowners. Israeli authorities later allowed the checkpoints to be opened. one hour One each in the morning and afternoon on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. “If you come a minute later, you won’t be able to get in; there are people sleeping at the gates of the checkpoint,” explains Abu Aisha, who still doesn’t know if he will be able to return home as he speaks these words.
collective punishment
“It’s a form of collective punishment because they’re putting the entire population under curfew.” without being responsible A B’Tselem spokesman condemned this. Young and old, accustomed to being targets of Israeli violence, are finding new ways to resist. “Before October 7, cameras They were our weapons, but that’s not even possible anymore; if you want to die“Just point the phone at a soldier,” says Azza. “For me stay at home “This is a form of resistance,” argues this young man, who is now united in fear along with 10 other relatives. “It’s true that we’re better off than in Gaza, where entire families are dying, but we don’t want to wait until it happens to us,” he explains.
The Palestinians of Hebron, fragmented and isolated, new Palestinian armed resistance groups This is what creates the youth in the northern cities of the occupied West Bank. They know that they have little chance of winning when faced with a powerful and entrenched system. “The Israelis will continue to do this because unfortunately no one said no to anything“They have power and can do whatever they want,” complains this young man who was arrested for the first time. 9 years. Five more arrests followed during his short 24-year life. “I don’t think about the future because we Palestinians have no future here.” I don’t think about tomorrow because tomorrow they might kill me or arrest me,” he admits shamelessly, just with a heavy dose of realism.
“Our children do not go to school or university, They imposed the occupation on us” explains the great Abu Aisha. “We want to live in peace, without problems, with all our efforts,” he admits, with a look that travels to a Palestinian land free of weapons, checkpoints and foreign soldiers. Locked in their homes, if they dare to throw it out the window, they will face They were pointing guns. settlers roamed its streets, hurling insults at the indigenous inhabitants of the place. “We are no better than Gaza“, Abu Aisha dares to say before running towards her taxi in case she still catches the open barrier that will allow her to sleep in her bed.