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The violent and unprovoked arrests of 5 international and Israeli activists on Friday 14 of August
represented a step up in the brutal Israeli suppression of creative non-violent political protest in Hebron.
In defiance of Military Order 101 which outlaws any political protest involving more than 10 people,
international and Palestinian activists have been gathering every Saturday
to protest the Israeli closure of Shuhada Street to Palestinians,
and the presence of illegal settlements and outposts throughout the area
and also in the very heart of the the Old City itself.
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An interview with Najwa Sultan of al Bwere a small village on the outskirts of Hebron.
This small village has the fortune to be located around a fertile valley full of grapes,olives and fruit trees
however it also borders the illegal settler out-post of the illegal settlement Givat Harsina.
The outpost is situated on a hillside overlooking al Bwere and on the so called ‘buffer-zone’ which is supposed to protect the large settlement suburb of Hasina from Palestinian ‘terror’.
In reality it not only denies the local farmers the opportunity to farm their land
but provides the extreme elements of the settler movement a base
from which to develop the Palestinian land for themselves
and to launch regular and violent attacks on the village and villagers of al Bwere.
Unfortunately these predations on the people of al Bwere are actively supported
not only by the collusion of the local Police and Army,
many of whom live alongside the settlers in Givat Harsina,
but also the entire military justice system which judges all Palestinians guilty by birth.
What was omitted- almost certainly unknown to the foreigner penning the article- is that so called “al Bwei’ur” is merely a squatter camp of Arabs living in stolen Jewish homes on stolen Jewish land. In 1929 when the Jews of Hebron were Ethnically Cleansed after 67 were slaughtered- Arabs like the Sultans and Jabaris stole land and homes owned by the Abu Shadid and Dwek Clans, both Jews. The fact that they even live there now is a travesty to anypne with knowledge and a conscious so the author whining about a buffer zone? Enough said. My recommendation would be to do objective research before sticking ypur nose into the domestic affairs of groups you have zero connection to.
Thanks for your perspective Rachamim,
I do wonder though, how the violence is justified? I understand the protests were peaceful? Regardless of history or who is “right” or “wrong”, surely a peaceful protest should be met with a peaceful response.
It’s no wonder the Middle East in general seems trapped in a perpetual cycle of warfare and violence.
We can either learn from the wrongs of the past, or be doomed to repeat them ad-infinitum. Violent action solves nothing.