Hebronites and allies march on Friday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Goldstein massacre. In the early hours of February 25, 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli-American settler, killed 29 Palestinians who were worshipping in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, wounding 125 others. In the following years, Israel has intensified its presence in the city, and especially around the old city and Tel Rumeida, where a small but militant Jewish settlement exists. Shuhada’ street, once a lively commercial hub, shuttered as Palestinian mobility along most of it was prohibited. Shuhada’ street remains a ghost area of the city, where only Settlers and their allies are allowed. Even Palestinians who live in the area are barred from traversing the street, on foot or by vehicle.
Israeli soldiers habitually break into Palestinian homes and turn them into makeshift military outposts. As the images here show, soldiers carry special tools designed to break locks in order to commandeer Palestinian-owned buildings. The Israeli military has erected multiple barriers and checkpoints throughout the city, severely curbing the everyday movement of Palestinians. When clashes erupt, soldiers at times use Palestinian passers-by as human shields, as demonstrated in the photo depicting a father with his two young children trapped in a carousel inside such checkpoint. Recently, Israel has expelled international observers who documented such daily abuses.
The marchers on Friday called for the dismantling of the ghetto-like conditions in Hebron and allow free movement of Palestinians in Shuhada’ street and elsewhere in the city. They also called for the reinstatement of independent international observing groups. The military dispersed the marchers using tear gas.
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The sidewalk outside an apartment commandeered by the soldiers is littered with broken glass from the windows above, indicating those had been very recently shattered.
Soldiers carry special tools designed to break locks in order to commandeer Palestinian homes and buildings at will.
