Just before the settler tour started, some soldiers decided to go on the roofs, so they could see the situation better and provide better cover to the settlers and their soldier buddies.
Without asking or anything like that, they entered into a Palestinian house. Walking through the living room, they went on the room. A fellow ISM activist and myself followed them up, and I began to ask them if they had the family's permission to enter their home. My friend told them that what they are doing is not allowed under international law. There were some other internationals who followed us. The soldiers completely ignored us, as well as a Palestinian woman who was looking at them, clearly upset at what they were doing.
They left, and a young man named Ahmad, talked to us. He said that he lives in that house, and that he has 4 sisters and 2 brothers, one of whom is in an Israeli prison. He told us that the soldiers come into the house whenever they feel a need to, without asking. That this is not their home, but one belonging to Palestinians, is irrelevant. Their security and dignity matter very little to the occupation.
Thus concludes day one in Hebron.
The IDF standing beside the settler tour, listening. The little boy who is part of the tour (and looks a bit bored) is Israeli. The little girl in the door, which the soldiers entered just a few seconds after this photo was taken, is Palestinian.
Walking up the staircase
Going through the rooms, and up on the roof. A Palestinian woman, one of the residents, watches as her house is entered by people who did not ask for permission, because simply they do not have to.
One of the soldiers on the roof
Ahmad explaining the situation to us. He gave permission to be on the blog.
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