14th August 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
Surrounded by many Israeli Army and Border Police personnel, a group of several dozen Israeli settlers two days ago went on a tour of Bab E Zawiyeh, an area in Hebron.
Prior to the tour, the Israeli military made a show of force, leaving their base and patrolling down the streets in great numbers. Some of the soldiers ordered Palestinians to move out of the way, others took up positions on rooftops.
Both Israeli Army and Border Police obstructed freedom of movement for Palestinians, denying some permission to go to their homes because the settlers were in the way. Israeli Border Police and Army soldiers got into verbal confrontations with Palestinian youth, and several times forced people to move back. A Palestinian journalist was briefly detained by Israeli Border Police, and forced to show his camera and phone to them.
The event lasted several hours, and caused lots of harassment for the Palestinians in Bab E Zawiyeh. This is not the first time Israeli settlers, protected by the Border Police and Army, entered H1.
H1 is a part of Hebron that is supposed to be under control of the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli Army enters it regularly, showing disregard for Palestinian sovereignty. What happened yesterday was only one example of this.
The tense situation could have ended in bloodshed or even deaths, if clashes broke out. During the tour, the Israeli military settlers once again displayed a lack of consideration for the human rights and dignity of the Palestinian people living in Hebron.
Israeli Border Police detain a Palestinian journalist and demand he show them his camera and phone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gPrKUzLqNk
Israeli Border Police try intimidating Palestinian young men and boys, ordering them to move back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFI3Caxu7CQ
