As I mentioned in a previous post, Hebron is a fascinating microcosm of the Israel/Palestine conflict. One obvious example is the case of Shuhada Street.
The city of Hebron is divided into two primary zones: H1 and H2. H1 is primarily under the administration of the Palestinian Authority, though the Israeli army reserves the right to enter at any time without opposition. H2 is under the jurisdiction of the Israeli military. H2 is also where a number of Israeli settlements are located. You can see in the map below that the Old City of Hebron, almost entirely Palestinian, is located within H2. I am also currently staying in the Old City. Since it is part of H2, you will come across roaming Israeli army patrols and Israeli checkpoints and watch/sniper towers while walking through the streets.
Click for a larger version…
In the map above, to the left and slightly below the Old City, you will see Al-Shuhada Street. Al-Shuhada Street is strictly off-limits to local Palestinians. For example, today, I was planning on walking down Shuhada Street but my fellow Palestinian photographer was unable to accompany me and went back to our guest house.
Below you will see a photo of Shuhada Street taken from the roof of the CPT house in the Old City.
To give you an example of how strict the travel restrictions for Palestinians using Shuhada Street are, let me give you an example. Let’s say that I am standing with my Palestinian friend at the location above. If we both want to visit the Muslim cemetery, I, being an American (or more importantly, not a Palestinian), can just cross the street. He, on the other hand, has a much longer trip ahead of him. If wants to walk, he will have to walk about 1.5km and enter the cemetery from H1. If he wants to drive to the cemetery, the trip is approximately 12km.
Let me illustrate this even further. Along Shuhada Street, there are many Palestinian homes. Their front doors are located on Shuhada Street. Unfortunately, since Palestinians cannot use this road, they cannot use the front doors of their home. Instead they have to enter from behind in the Old City. The stairs on the roof below are used by a Palestinian family to enter their second or third floor home because they are not allowed to use the front door.
From inside the Old City, Israel has constructed large barricades blocking any access to Shuhada Street or any other areas that are used by Israeli settlers. Below is a photo of one such barricade:
Israeli settlers are subject to no such restrictions.
Some background
Israel occupied the West Bank after the 1967 Six Day war. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is illegal for an occupying power to resettle its civilian population to occupied land. Imagine the US government offering housing and tax incentives for Americans to move to Baghdad in order to make it a permanent part of the United States. That is precisely what Israel has done. To put it into numbers, there are only about 400-500 Israeli settlers in Hebron, all protected by the Israeli army, while there are approximately 166,000 Palestinians.
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Thank you for your comment. As you undoubtedly saw from previous commenters, I'm not here to debate the entire history of the conflict. There is plenty of injustice throughout the history of the region to go around on both sides. That being said, there is no compelling historical narrative that can justify the injustice happening on the ground now. I'm reporting the situation as it is. If you would like to debate the facts I present, then by all means do so. If you'd like to crawl through history looking for some incident or massacre that, in your eyes, justifies Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians today, then I invite you to do so on your own site.
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Mikhael Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 01:03
I happen to be descended from a Jewish family that lived in both Hebron and Jerusalem going back many centuries. I don’t necessarily believe that Hebron must remain under Israeli sovereignty nor do I justify the radical fundamentalist hardl line of most Hebrrob settlers. Post-1967, none of my father’s cousins chose to return to family property that had been abandoned in 1929.They were already resettled in Ramat Gan for many decades. I believe Israel should make territorial concessions in *most* (but not all) of the disputed areas. Nevertheless, it is a disingenuous omission in your paragraph entitled “Some background” when you glide over the fact that Jews were part of the fabric of life in Hebron for centuries, that is considered the second-holiest city to Jews (after Jerusalem) and that there was a terrible massacre and ethnic cleansing of Jews conducted by Arab rioters in that city, nearly two decades before the satte of Israel, which you and Palestinian Arab supporters refer to as a “Nakba”
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Shawn Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 01:20
Thanks Mikhael. You make a very valid point and, believe me, it is not my intent to completely ignore the very real history of Jewish people in the area. In fact, on a previous trip to Hebron, our Palestinian guide pointed out the original Hebrew engraving over one of the doors in the Old City. So, yes, I definitely acknowledge Jewish roots there, as well, as do most Palestinians I know. In fact, as I’m sure you know, the name of the city is still descended from its original Jewish name as opposed to the Arabic name of al-Khalil.
So, thank you for your comment. It is definitely appreciated.
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Mikhael Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 02:15
Is it too late to proofread/edit my typos?
Mikhael Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 02:24
Re:
“name of the city is still descended from its original Jewish name as opposed to the Arabic name of al-Khalil.”
Well, technically the name “Hevron” in Hebrew contains the root for the Hebrew word “friend”, and the Arabic “al Khalil” also means “friend”. Ideally, I would like to see Hebron as part of a sovereign state that offers its Jewish residents the right to live there either as: (a) Palestinian citizens (I doubt they would accept it) or (b) legal permanent residents. Although I am an agnostic, I would like them to continue to have the right to pray at Mearat haMakhpela, something Jews were unable to do from the Middle Ages until 1967. (They could only ascend to the 7th Step.)
My POV re: Hebron is much further to the “right” of Avraham Burg, an Israeli descended on his mother’s side from a Hebron family (and a distant cousin of mine) , but well to the left of David Wilder, the American-born spokesman for Hebron’s Jewish community.
Shawn Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 02:29
I think that’s a perfectly reasonable idea. In fact, I don’t think many Palestinians would have a problem with it, either, so long as they had a real, sovereign state and could also move to, or worship, in Israel where they choose. Any person should be able to live and worship wherever they choose and be treated the same under the law.
Thank you for the comment KMs. However, I have to disagree on your characterization of Israel as Nazi Germany. I think the situation is infinitely more complex. What I see, essentially, are two Israels. One acts as any other Western nation in that it is a liberal democracy (for the most part) and embraces most Western liberal values. Then, there is the Israel that exists for most Palestinians. This is the Israel we see in the West Bank and Gaza. A nation that puts its “security” above the most basic human rights and international law even though its actions really don't add to their security at all. It is a nation that seeks to preserve its own religious and ethnic superiority at all costs and has essentially become an apartheid state.
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Bruce Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 05:26
Israel is not Nazi Germany, but Apartheid South Africa.
They discriminate people they occupy with their Military, based on race, fundamentally undermining their human rights and cover it up with pathetic excuses.
Take a look at a current map of the West Bank and the settlements, walls etc. and compare it the Bantustans of apartheid South Africa. The similarity is staggering, the difference being that South Africa was condemned by the entire world whereas Israel is protected and actively aided by the US.
I am South African by the way.
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Shawn Duffy is a freelance commercial photographer and photojournalist based in the Washington, DC Metro area. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, he is a self-taught photographer who has decided to merge his passion for photography with his intense interest in the world around him. From the bustling streets of Bangalore, India, to the refugee camps of occupied Palestine, Shawn strives to create images and tell stories that compel others to act.
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Anonymous Reply:
May 3rd, 2010 at 12:41
DEAR asshole
what in your eye is injustice is actually a bi product of palestinian terrorisem, in any case injustice started with christians and moslems taking over a land that is jewish, and to say shaheda street is a street in palestine is like saying broadway is in middle of canberra. you must understand historical contex of your work other wise your are seen as another bias personality on the eyes of people that have a lot more knowlege of facts as you do. i don’t try to debate you is useless, in your site or outside. but i can promise you the hart of every jew is on shaheda street, we will someday take it and send people who masscared us and exiled us from hebron to where they realy belong maybe your hometown will take them but it will happen i promise you and that is no debat go to hell please
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