Hebron, West Bank 2/7/07

"This is not a conflict with the Jews. Jews and Palestinians lived peacefully here for many years." An elder Palestinian man from a small neighborhood in Hebron shared this with us. He grew up in Hebron and has fond memories of his Jewish neighbors. His brother and his neighbor were "milk siblings"; that is, as infants they both drank milk from his mother's breast. After the war in 1948, his Jewish neighbors moved away and Jewish settlers moved in who today treated them as animals.

We went to this neighborhood to visit a family up the hill. We were stopped by the israeli guards because we were forbidden from going to their home based on an arbitrary rule that these families cannot receive visitors. This is a peaceful elderly family. The last time our trip leaders visited the family, they were allowed to go but the Jewish settler family across the street threw food directly at them.

Hebron is one of the few places on the west bank where settlers and palestinians live within the same city. There is a very strong military presence that monitors and limits palestinian movement and business. There are daily altercations between settlers and palestinians.

Another Palestinian man shared his story with us. He lives in the old city of Hebron. There is a settler apartment built right next to his home. The settlers offered him $1 million if he would move. He refused. His family was harassed--stones, food, bottles were thrown at them. One night, settlers came into their home and beat him and his wife. They lost their unborn child. Then they asked him if he would now move for the $1 million. He told them that if he was going to move, he would have done so before losing his child.
-NL