Israeli settlers and visiting Jews, some carrying automatic weapons, walking up Tel Rumeida Street in a Palestinian neighborhood in Hebron.
 

Tel Rumeida is a neighborhood in Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank (after Jerusalem), and one of the most problematic places in the occupied territories. In Hebron, four small illegal Jewish settlements have been planted in the heart of this Palestinians city. A minority of 600 settlers live among 40,000 Palestinians in H2, or the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron, as outlined in the Oslo Agreement. The Israelis who live in these settlements are some of the most violent settlers in the West Bank.

The Palestinians in Tel Rumeida are living in some of the worst circumstances one could imagine. They are not allowed to drive on their own streets; these are reserved for Jews only. Every time Palestinians want to come in or go out of their small neighborhood – whether to go to work or school, shop in the market, or visit friends or family – they must pass through a checkpoint and show their ID, and they are subject to searches or harassment.

On Friday, November 2nd, Kathy and Brenna of MPT, along with five other international human rights workers (HRWs), were on their way back to the international apartment in Tel Rumeida after working at the Jabri family farm (see Jabri Farm report) when we were stopped by the Israeli police. The police commander told our group that we all had to leave because the entire Tel Rumeida neighborhood had been declared a “closed military zone” for internationals for the rest of that day and all day Saturday. When we asked for a reason for the closure, the police explained that the following day was a major holiday for Israeli settlers and visiting Jews, and they didn’t want the presence of internationals to exacerbate conflicts between Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

Although thousands of Jewish people had arrived from countries all over the world for the celebration of this holiday, and thus were also technically “internationals,” police did not ask them to leave the neighborhood. It is important to note that in past years, any violence committed on this holiday (and every day in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood) overwhelmingly has been perpetrated against Palestinians by Israeli settlers or visiting Jews.

The Israeli police officer took our passports and escorted us back to the apartment to gather our belongings. Not wanting to risk arrest, we allowed the police to see us out of Checkpoint 56, the main checkpoint leading out of the neighborhood. Later that afternoon, Kathy and Brenna, along with two other internationals, were able to sneak back into the apartment – and we literally “sneaked”! We had to climb up a few steep dirt embankments, and then wait until after dark to avoid being seen by the police car that had parked in front of the apartment for most of the evening. After returning, we kept all the lights off in the apartment the rest of the night, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that we had remained despite the closed military zone order.
 

Jewish settlers, one with an automatic weapon,

walking by soldier.

On Saturday, as we were not allowed out of the building without risking immediate arrest, our group monitored a military checkpoint from the roof of our apartment. We observed thousands of Israeli settlers, joined by Jewish visitors from Israel and other countries, walking around the neighborhood throughout the day. Many of the Jewish men were wearing automatic weapons slung across their shoulders; however, not one Jewish person was stopped by Israeli soldiers on the street, while every single Palestinian going into town – whether a man, a woman, or a child – had to have their bags and clothes checked. Palestinian men and boys had to lift up their shirts and pant legs and take off their jackets for the soldiers. Again, these searches happened inside the Palestinians’ own neighborhood.

Palestinian women being checked by a soldier.

The injustice of the situation in Tel Rumeida is appalling: Palestinian men, women, and children are searched, detained, and beaten constantly in their own neighborhood, while Jewish visitors to the neighborhood are allowed to roam freely with automatic weapons and harass Palestinians.  While there were no incidences of violence against Palestinians reported in the Tel Rumeida area that day, one older woman from the Jabri family was attacked by Israeli settler children, and was sent to the hospital to be treated.

On Tuesday, Brenna and Martha left for Susiya, a village south of Hebron. On their way back through Tel Rumeida on Thursday, they discovered that David, a fellow international HRW from Britain, had been detained, handcuffed, blindfolded, and beaten by Israeli soldiers the previous day when he didn’t allow the soldiers to take his passport from him. Knowing that the Israeli law forbids soldiers from actually physically taking a passport from an international, David merely showed his passport to the soldier at the checkpoint. For this he was beaten with clubs on the back of his neck, his kidneys, and his legs by twelve Israeli soldiers. David spent eleven hours at the Israeli police station to file a complaint, but the police have refused to identify his attackers. David hopes that by publicizing this incident in the media, he can draw attention to the fact that Palestinians endure this same type of treatment, and much worse, every day in Tel Rumeida.

What follows are multiple pictures from Saturday, November 3, 2007. They highlight just some of the injustice that Palestinians endure living in their own neighborhood.

Palestinian man lifting up his pant legs and shirt for Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian neighborhood of Tel Rumeida

Israeli settlers or visiting Jews carrying automatic weapons in the Palestinian neighborhood of Tel Rumeida

Palestinian boys lifting up shirt and pant legs for Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian neighborhood of Tel Rumeida

Israeli settlers, one with an automatic weapon
None were checked by soldiers in this
Palestinian city of Tel Rumeida
 

Palestinian women and children being checked by a soldier (behind tent) in their own neighborhood, while Israeli settlers walk by freely