the eyes of a sunbird - fighting ghost town

fighting ghost town

In Hebron we met Issa Amro, an activist with Youth Against Settlements, an organization that fights against the expansion of settlements in Hebron, which is one of the cities in the West Bank hardest hit by the occupation.

Palestinians residing in parts of Hebron are subjected to curfews, forced evictions, street closures, and checkpoints.

In 1994, after an American-Israeli settler attacked the Ibrahimi mosque, killing 29 Palestinians, the Israeli authorities shut down Shuhada street, the main street in old Hebron, cutting the city off financially and turning it into a ghost town.

Since then, that area of Hebron has been divided into three sections, which are heavily guarded by the military and allow Palestinians little access to freely move about.

Military checkpoint on Shuhada street

Issa Amro telling us the history of the Old City of Hebron

This sign is seen in the window of a home on Shuhada street. "Caution: This was taken by Israel, You are apartheid."

Palestinians that reside on Shuhada street are not allowed to use their front door. They must use the alleyways, rooftops, and back doors to enter and leave their homes.

There is a yearly campaign to Open Shuhada street in Hebron that commemorates the anniversary of the Ibrahimi massacre. It's a week long event that culminates in a march down Shuhada street.

There are a number of Israeli fundamentalists that have illegally and forcibly settled in the heart of the Old City of Hebron.

Many of the settlers in this area of Hebron come from Brooklyn, NY.

Throughout Shuahda street there is counter-propaganda about what happened to Jewish communities during the Second Intifada.

The image to the left is supposed to display a backstabbing Palestinian. Images like this are seen in numerous places on Shuhada street.

This video is a mild example of what Palestinians have to endure at various military checkpoints through the country.

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