Blogs from Hebron, West Bank, Israel, Middle East

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Middle East » Israel » West Bank » Hebron December 23rd 2018

Da un po di tempo non esistono fine settimana per il popolo palestinese, eterno perdente nella lotta contro Israele e piu' in generale contro tutta l'opinione pubblica mondiale; troppo complessi i problemi e troppo stratificate le conseguenze per poterne trarre un giudizio saggio ed equilibrato, inutile chiedere ai rispettivi protagonisti un'opinione imparziale e distaccata dai propri interessi, e non saro' di certo io qui ad ipotizzarne una soluzione: troppo superiori gli israeliani e troppo grande il cuore dei palestinesi per affrontare quest' impresa. Inutile anche fare una breve introduzione alla questione perche', come qualcuno mi ha fatto notare in questi giorni (sta a voi capire se israeliano o palestinese...), la storia non puo' essere raccontata a partire da una certa data ma deve sempre essere narrata dall'inizio e quindi, trattandosi nello specifico di una storia particolarmen ... read more
Hebron /Al Khalil
Il muro a Betlemme
Tomba dei patriarchi / Moschea di Ibrahim

Middle East » Israel » West Bank » Hebron August 13th 2015

This is one of these blogs where I have strictly no idea how to start and how to write what I was fortunate to enjoy for a full day in Hebron and around Bethlehem and East Jerusalem. First, the word enjoy is clearly not the right one! The word witness is way more accurate! I have a serious interest in international politics, and therefore I'm truly interested by what is happening here...but we could go back 3000 years...or only 70 years...and a blog will never be enough to try to comprehend the daily reality here! Before stating any bias, here is, was and is still today my own statement about the relationship between Palestine and Israel. I believe in a two States position living in peace side by side. For this, I do not support the ... read more
They try to explain to us their side of the story...from a street in Hebron where most Palestinians are prohibited to enter!
Zone A, Zone B, Zone C....the all issue of the colonies!
After Berlin, we hoped never to see those anymore!

Middle East » Israel » West Bank » Hebron January 19th 2015

Middle East » Israel » West Bank » Hebron December 14th 2011

Hebron is the most vivid reminder of the Israeli occupation. I don’t understand how Palestinians living in Hebron’s Old City have the energy to stay in the face of routine settler violence. Over 500,000 (illegal) Israeli settlers live across the West Bank. But Hebron’s case is unique because settlers live right in the middle of the Palestinian city—rather than maintaining a degree of isolation, as is normally the case. Because of the settlers’ existence, the Hebron municipality was divided into two sections in 1997: H1 (under Palestinian Authority control) and H2 (under Israeli control). H2 includes parts of the Old City, such as the al-Ibrahimi Mosque. Visitors and worshippers have to go through three checkpoints to get to the mosque! The H2 area (roughly 20 percent of the Hebron municipality) has 40,000 Palestinian inhabitants and 500 ... read more
Photo 3
Palestine's last keffiyeh factory
Photo 4

Middle East » Israel » West Bank » Hebron August 2nd 2011

On the next day, the group of us from the hostel headed out to the West Bank. There were two Brits and two Americans. We took a sherut to the Bethlehem checkpoint, and as usual, it was unclear what to do in crossing into the West Bank at the checkpoint. After we crossed through, we were accosted by Palestinian drivers wanting to show us around the West Bank. We began to walk away, and finally a decent driver talked with us, and offered us a good price to go to Hebron and Bethlehem. The driver ultimately was what made the trip to the West Bank so successful. Our first stop in the West Bank was the “security wall” that Israel erected in order to supposedly protect itself from the people living in the West Bank. On ... read more
The Wall
Banksy work
Banksy Work

Middle East » Israel » West Bank » Hebron November 5th 2009

Winter made its presence known this week; it rained hard for four or five days and I pulled out my sweaters and coat. I spent Shabbat with my friend Tamar and her family north of Tel Aviv and in between downpours we walked along the beach so I could stock up on fresh salty air and the sound and surge of the waves. We even made it down to Jaffa, a charming, ancient port city where Jews and Palestinians live together relatively harmoniously. Which brings me to my main theme for the day. But first, my disclaimer: There are obviously as many opinions about the Middle East as there are people interested in the region. My goal here is to tell you about my experience, not necessarily to extrapolate policy. Of course, if anyone would like ... read more
Welcoming in Shabbat
A-Shuhada Street, Hebron
Caged balconies

Middle East » Israel » West Bank » Hebron November 20th 2006

His panic-stricken little face lights up when he receives the information that we’ll escort him home, sending him skipping merrily down the road on an errand to buy potatoes. This is the Palestinian Authority controlled area of Hebron, and as we cross through Tel Rumeida checkpoint to the other side in order to wait for the Palestinian boy’s return, we soon discover the source of his fear. We are confronted by around 100 ultra-orthodox Jews, who are gathered in Hebron to mark ‘Hebron day’, one of whom shouts “You know that Jesus is gay?”. None of us really react to this arbitrary taunt, however it does serve to focus the crowd’s attentions squarely on our small group of human rights workers. Another shouts “What are you doing here?” “Tourists” I reply, believing this to be the ... read more
Tove
Tove.
Tove.




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