Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Settler tour and clashes

Today is Tisha B'Av. It is a day of fasting for Jewish people, as they commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temple. It is a day of fasting and sadness, as Jewish people mourn the great injustice that has been carried out against their ancestors by Babylonian and Roman conquerors and imperialists.

For most Jewish people, it is a day of fasting from not only food and drink, but also other enjoyments. Parts of the Torah are read that describe the suffering the Israelite people went through.

Like most other religious people of the world, people who follow the Jewish religion love God and they love their neighbours- Jewish and non.


The settlers in Hebron are cut from a different cloth. Someone decided that the best way to celebrate this day would be having a tour through Bab E Zawiya, in H1. This is a very crowded part of Hebron, and it is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. It is not under the control of the Israeli government, but there is a Jewish religious site there.

So, in an environment that is already extremely tense, the Israeli army and Border Police moved in. They blocked off several roads with military trucks, and soldiers faced the people. Some of them pointed guns directly at shoppers and people who were sitting on a pavement and watching them.

A youth or two from far away threw a rock that did not land anywhere close, and someone set off a firecracker.

Settlers began filing out of the checkpoint, and crossing into H1, escorted by soldiers

Other soldiers and police then began forbidding Palestinians from getting to their homes, and forced people to stand between them and the area where rocks would have been thrown from, from the crowds of shebab that gather in that place to confront the army. They were not there yet, but had they shown up and clashes began, these people would have been directly in line of fire. People began pleading with the soldiers and police to be able to go home (or to a safe place, even if only a distance behind them), and they were being refused. Women and children and families were allowed to go through after some talking with them, but men were forced to stay.

Using civilians as human shields- which was effectively what the soldiers and Border Police were doing- is a war crime. It is an example of intentionally putting people in harm's way. It is not only against the Geneva Convention, but against any normal human beings' standard of morality.

Some ISMers talked to the Border Police and soldiers, and asked them to allow the men to get home. They began yelling at us in Hebrew and telling us to "shut the fuck up" in English. Some of us began taking pictures and initially they ignored us, but then began allowing the men to leave. I think that sometimes a camera can be a powerful weapon. The Border Police commander was visibly annoyed and loudly said to me "Are you happy now???". I said I was, and we thanked him.

The settlers came back from their tour, and it began to get dark.

Crowds of shebab began to gather, singing and waving Palestinian flags. While some ISMers went to film what was happening, others of us chose to go back. Pretty soon, loud booms and gunshots could be heard, as Palestinian youth and young men again faced off against an occupying army. Stones and firecrackers were met with teargas, sound bombs, rubber coated steel bullets, and live ammo.

As this post is being written, loud booms can be heard outside our apartment from a distance, as well as cries of "Allahu Akhbar" and whistling from the shebab. Our ISMers on the ground have reported that two people already have been shot with live ammunition.


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