This police officer grabs a little girl in Hebron. Photo: John Janney
This is an article from the International Solidarity Movement, a group we worked with in Hebron. It illustrates the insecurity of
Monitoring the kids on their way home from Cordoba School. Photo: Anna T.
Palestinian life under occupation and the injustice of this system. For years the teachers of Cordoba School have been allowed to use the side gate at checkpoint 56, but last week that changed abruptly, simply because the army said so. Because there is a metal detector inside the checkpoint, pregnant women and people with heart conditions have been allowed to use the gate to minimize health risks. Now even they are barred from using the side gate! There need be no other reason than what the soldiers always told us: “Security.” In protest the teachers and students held classes outside of the checkpoint — on the Palestinian controlled side. The Israelis sent in the Border Police to tear gas them. The police have manhandled young children from this elementary school, who were protesting non-violently.
Soldier at Checkpoint 56 checking children. Photo: Amy K
For three months I stood inside this checkpoint and watched the teachers and children go through twice a day without incident. The teachers used the side gate and the soldiers checked their ID numbers. Now, not only are they restricted from doing so, but for refusing to go through the checkpoint, the army has closed their school.
The Palestinians are afraid that the Israeli settlers will try to take over the school, since in the past they have vandalized it and the homes nearby. If something is not done, then it is only a matter of time before this really does happen. This news makes me so angry and sad. I know these kids and teachers. They are kind and dedicated to this school that provides a good education to children living in difficult circumstances. These kids deserve an education and the teachers deserve to be treated with respect. Apparently even education is deemed a security risk by the Israeli army; so dangerous in fact, that they would deny it to small Palestinian children.
October 17, 2011 at 1:33 pm
This seems terribly one sided plight you repeatedly describe in your blogs.
I’d be interested in understanding even a portion of other half you completely omit.
These problems have existed for thousands of years and there are stories on both sides of this issue.
October 17, 2011 at 1:45 pm
If you read the description of my blog it is from the experiences I had in Hebron. I agree there are stories on both sides, and the Israeli side is already well represented in our media. I would disagree that these problems are thousands of years old. They are about an hundred years old. And I don’t see why innocent children suffering and being thrown around by the police should not be reported and would be dismissed. I think that no matter what has happened or is happening, people who care about human rights would be appalled.
October 17, 2011 at 3:27 pm
I’d venture an opinion this is a very old discussion but u are only looking at current events from what I read. Probably dates back about 3000 years. King Soloman temple.
I also disagree that one side reported here in the US and other not (so you are doing that). Neither side is well reported. Did you do any fact digging or research on the other side of the fence? What are the Jews and Arabs within Jeruselem away from these edges stating?
I also understand that atrocities sadly happen in many spots in the world.
I think it is a disservice to promote propaganda and advise it as the only truth.
October 17, 2011 at 3:52 pm
I think appealing to the biblical story is not productive when considering what will bring about lasting and just peace for Israelis and Palestinians. What facts do you purport that I have left out? Unless you have spent time in Hebron, it is difficult to understand what is going on here and why I have posted this story as it stands. I am not sure what you are asking when you want to know what the Jews and Palestinians in Jerusalem are saying. The voices are varied. If you speak with Israelis who represent the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolition in Jerusalem and the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity group they will tell you as I, that this military occupation of Palestinians is not the best way to have security or peace in Israel. I am not promoting propaganda. I have reported facts and firsthand video. You have not presented anything concrete to back up what you have posted here. If you would like to, I would be glad to respond. I do appreciate your interest.
October 17, 2011 at 4:32 pm
I am looking to understand why the Israelis are spending so many resources on this effort if there was not a valid reason from their perspective?
Why do the Israeli people feel so unsafe letting Hebron people in their borders?
You do not state any of this in your information above only a single point of view.
Just looking to learn.
Thanks.
October 17, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Well, the reality is that the city of Hebron is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, and the problem is that 500 Israeli settlers moved into the heart of the city, so 1500 soldiers are based in the city to protect them. This meant that the Old City area, where this school is, even though it is Palestinian land, is ruled by military law. So, it is the Israelis who have chosen to live within the borders of the Palestinians. The area where the school is used to be the main market place for the Palestinians before 1994, when Baruch Goldstein from the settlement of Kiryat Arba went to the mosque in Hebron and shot 29 people during prayer. After that the army started closing the Palestinian shops in fear that there would be retaliation. They also closed the street on which the school is located to Palestinians. The picture of me standing at the bottom of the stairs shows the only entrance for Palestinians to the rest of Shuhada Street. The Israeli High Court ruled in favor of the Palestinians in 2007, saying that the street should not be closed, but the army keeps it closed to Palestinians, while Israelis are free to drive and walk on the street. Some Palestinian families still live there, but they are harassed by settlers, who throw stones and vandalize their houses. It is really hard to picture the situation unless one visits the city. It does not fit our picture of rational living.
October 17, 2011 at 8:02 pm
It is a shame about the man who was probably crazy. We will never know what led him to the conclusion that taking life was acceptable.
Regardless sadly this is a fact of life in that part of the world. Many innocents often killed and terrorized.
It seems a if to protect 500 rogue people a response of 1500 soldiers is extreme.
I wonder if there is more to the soldiers presence than just the 500. Surely this is a large settlement area and 500 people must be a small amount. Even 1500 I’d imagine isn’t that many.
Isn’t this settlement about 100k, so 1500 a small percent people there.
Is there any chance the Israeli army is protecting against other perceived threats?
October 17, 2011 at 8:14 pm
I winder a i think more– why would the people of Israel feel the need to defend so strongly ?
I’ve never been there so I wonder.
October 17, 2011 at 10:15 pm
He was crazy perhaps just as Arab terrorists are crazy, meaning that they are the exception to the rule. Most people would not do such things to other human beings. Yet a monument to him is set up in the settlement of Kiryat Arba because he is seen as a hero. It is true, Palestinians have perpetrated violence against Jews, so the desire for security is not unfounded. But the problem is that this land does not belong to Israel. The state did not annex it in 1967 after the Six-Day War, but chose to simply occupy it. The Israelis who have chosen to move in after 1967 knew they were taking over land that belonged to Palestinians because according to their religious beliefs it really belongs to them. That is why they call the police to come and stop Palestinians from renovating their own homes, since they believe that these Palestinian homes are really theirs and they will get them once they push out the Arabs. That is why I am afraid for this school that has been the target of settler violence. Under this system of military rule in this part of Hebron, the Palestinians have very little protection. That is why groups like mine are present; we hold everyone accountable for their actions. I can say that the only assault on my person came from the Israelis — settlers who threw stones at me, soldiers who pushed me and shot tear gas at peaceful demonstrations. And in my time there I did not see or hear about Palestinian violence against Israelis. As a Christian and a pastor, I believe God wants all people to feel safe and have access to basic things like education, water, healthcare, legal protection that is fair, etc. For Palestinians each of these is denied under the Israeli occupation. I hope for a day when that is not the case.
October 18, 2011 at 8:46 am
As a child of Abraham as well, I disagree that a settlement of 500 constitutes all the Israeli people or the intent of a nation. Certainly there are Palistinans in Israel borders as well. I’d venture a guess this number is even higher than the Israelis in Hebron.
Is it not true that groups of people such as the Hamas expend great efforts to displace the entire population of this country, and regularly demonstrate desire to settle this area?
Perhaps it is because of actions from people such as this group , that cause Israeli soldiers to be required to protect against such threats? For the safety of all.
I can not believe that only the people that you serve over there are entirely innocent and the other side is entirely at fault.
I have never encountered such a conflict, where one party was completely innocent and the other completely at fault.
This is what I was referring to in your accounts that seem lacking in information and read as propaganda.
Many have tried to, probably will try to take over the land we are speaking of as for any child of Abraham this is sacred ground. Any of us has artifacts and holy places there.
Perhaps there is a great deal of information that you are unaware of having spent much of your efforts only in one area? Don’t you wonder what it is that you are missing experiencing from only one angle?
Learning the additional would only confirm your belief, if indeed the Israelis are at completely at fault, and the Hebrons faultless.
Wouldn’t this be a more powerful place to discuss this from, understanding the plight on both sides this issue and thereby confirming your view?
Or does this challenge too much ? Certainly it would be interesting to portray in your writings a broader view.
People are killed and displaced all over this globe and anywhere this is an atrocity.
October 18, 2011 at 10:19 am
I thought I had agreed with you that the Palestinians are not completely innocent, as I had written in my previous responses. It is an overstatement to say that all of Hamas wants to take over all the land, and this is also what some of the settlers want (as one told me peace will come when we get rid of all the Arabs “by any means necessary.”), so perhaps they cancel each other out. I still don’t understand how this justifies the inhumane treatment of school children and others, which is what this post was about. International humanitarian law says that non-combatants in a conflict are to be allowed access to healthcare, schooling, and other basic needs to life. Just because some Palestinians have perpetrated violence does not justify treating all Palestinians as animals. These are people. And I can tell you that the people I met in Hebron are the warmest and most generous people I know. They don’t deserve this treatment.
If, as you say, both parties are guilty of violations of the other, then why do you have such a problem with this particular post? Or are Palestinian lives worth less than Israeli lives? More Palestinians have been killed by Israel than Israelis have been killed by Palestinians. In my other posts there is not only one side, unless the voices of Israelis against the policies of their government are not real Israelis. There are the soldiers we talked with in the South Hebron Hills, Nomika Zion from Sderot where Hamas has sent rockets, soldiers from Breaking the Silence, B’Tselem that gives Palestinians video cameras to film the violations of their rights, Tayyush, Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolition, and many other Israelis, who say this is hurting their own society as much as it is hurting Palestinians.
In 1947-8 750,000 Palestinians were pushed off of their land and made refugees to make way for the future state of Israel. A number of them were massacred by the Jews, who wanted their villages for themselves (The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Ilan Pappe). Many of them are still alive and remember the homes to which they will never be allowed to return. There are now 8 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants scattered throughout the world, including those living inside the West Bank and Gaza. They will not be allowed to return to their land, while a Jewish person born anywhere in the world is easily permitted to move to Israel and become a citizen; in fact their trip will be paid for. It stands to reason that these facts might make people a little angry. Then for more of the little land that is left to them to be taken over by settlements and for the army to violate their rights, does not make Israel’s position more secure where Palestinians in the West Bank are concerned.
20% of the population of the state of Israel are Palestinians, which is 1.5 million people, whose rights are increasingly limited by recent legislation in the Israeli parliament, such as the Citizenship Law and the Nakba Law passed this spring.
There are over 500,000 Israelis settlers living inside the West Bank and East Jeruselem — the area determined by the international community (including the U.S.) to be the land of the Palestinian people. These settlements are illegal under the 4th Geneva Convention of which Israel is a signer. The government of Israel has refused to stop building these; Netanyahu just approved another 1000+ illegal housing units built near Jerusalem. If you go to Justvision.org you will see some of the situation in E. Jerusalem from the perspective of 2 Palestinians and 2 Israelis in the series Home Front.
The fact is that the Israeli government and army holds all the power here to change things. That is why they get the greater responsibility. A state that occupies an area is obligated to care for the people there and allow them access to basic needs. This is basic to International Humanitarian Law. The situation is complex, but when an elementary school child is tossed around by a police officer, who is supposedly there to protect and a school is closed simply because the teachers want to be treated with respect, there is a problem.
October 18, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Agree that all around this region has issues. No one wants to see children uneducated or innocents harassed. On either side of that or any other wall.
Also fully believe that this discussion and this topic is far larger than 2 people will solve on a blog.
While you have some facts above that are correct, there are other things you cite that are incorrect.
Best of luck to you on your mission. I hope someday you will explore a bit of the larger picture and other points of view on this very complex issue.
October 18, 2011 at 9:17 pm
Thank you for the well wishes. I wonder what things I cite that are incorrect, just so I can explore further. I have spent a good deal of time these last 6 years learning about the details of this conflict. I have not learned everything and don’t intend to solve it. I just want to raise awareness of what happens on a day to day basis in an area that few people dare to enter.