This week in Hebron, soldiers have continued their expansion of duty and further harassment of Palestinians.
On Wednesday night Human Rights Workers (HRWs) discovered the door of an empty Palestinian house next to the checkpoint leading to Tel Rumeida had been removed. Soldiers are already using the house on the other side of the checkpoint as a military outpost and habitually use the roof as an opportunity to throw snow or gravel at Palestinian children.
HRWs were scheduled to hold a Gaza Solidarity Action at Issa’s House Saturday morning but on Friday night soldiers from the military outpost within the settlement broke into the long coveted property and stole gas, cameras, a stereo, a laptop, a water heater and all the preparation for next year’s summer camp. Complaints have been filed to the police.
Furthering their patrols into Palestinian daily life, HRWs in Hebron were called this morning into the centre of the city where soldiers had declared access to a shop, library and Palestinian homes as a Secured Area. They refused entry to HRWs but allowed the inhabitants unrestricted access to the building. Two soldiers guarded the entrance whilst four more went into the shop beneath the flats and “searched” the premises. The shopkeeper told us that they had not taken anything and it appeared another attempt to remind Palestinians that H1 is not an autonomous area.