Tel Rumeida: The Palestinian residents are under curfew since the beginning of the war
We conducted a telephone conversation with Issa, as a substitute for a visit that cannot be made today in this part of Hebron, due to the curfew and the fear of violence.
Issa says:
Since the beginning of the war, the Palestinian residents in H2 (the area of Hebron under Israeli control) have been under curfew. They are allowed to leave their homes only three days a week (Sunday, Wednesday, and Tuesday), for one hour in the morning (7.00 - 8.00) and one hour in the evening (16.00 - 17.00).
Except for these hours, the residents are not allowed to go outside. They’re forbidden to even sit or stand in the doorways of houses or go up to their roofs. Needless to say, under such a curfew, people cannot continue their lives and work.
When they go outside during the hours of the curfew lift, the settlers throw stones at them. Even near the checkpoint. A majority of the soldiers are residents of the Jewish neighborhoods in Hebron, mainly from Tel Rumeida. Issa knows them.
And what is going on with Issa?
On Friday, October 20th, Yehuda Shaul from Breaking the Silence and an Australian journalist came to his home on the hill ascending Tel Rumeida (next to the settlement). They came to hear about the situation of Palestinians who reside in Hebron and the rest of the West Bank, since the beginning of the war. After the visit, as punishment, the army expelled Issa from his home. Apparently the Palestinians are not allowed to have guests in their home. He appealed to the High Court through the lawyer Michael Sfard. Before the hearing at the High Court, the army gave him permission to return to his home, at midnight on Sunday 11/5. The High Court hearing was canceled.
The army demanded precision: he waited at the Tamar checkpoint (the terrifying checkpoint above Tel Rumeida, above the Jewish cemetery and the Chabad center) until midnight, and only then was he allowed to return. In practice he was deported for 16 days. At midnight the following day, the settlers of Tel Rumeida ( some of them in uniform, he knows his neighbors) attacked his house. Army officers stole the cameras installed around him (which he was given by Breaking the Silence). The police were also there. They ordered him to return to his house by eight in the evening.
Attached is a letter of appeal from the Palestinian families in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron to the American Secretary of State for the lifting of the curfew. They’re asking to spread the letter widely.