Hebron

I did a bit of reading about Hebron to try to understand what is going on there that makes it so confusing to visit.  In spite the fact that it is almost a totally Palestinian city of over 150,000 people it is very strictly controlled by the Israeli military.  To find out why I did a bit of research and reading and now I think I am beginning to understand.

Hebron is an ancient city which has been continuously inhabited since its founding by Canaanites.  The city has its’ fame tied to the fact that Abraham, spiritual father of Jews and Arabs, bought a piece of land near Hebron for the family burial plot after Sarah died.  Abraham, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah were all buried there.  Later Joseph and other patriarchs were buried there.

The area has gone back and forth between Jewish and Arab control since then with buildings built by kings and rulers, both Jewish and Arab.  From the 13^th century until modern times the area has been under the control of Arabs and during that period Christians and Jews were prohibited from visiting the tombs of the patriarchs.

When the United Nations drew boundaries in 1947, Hebron remained in Palestinian control and is its largest city.  But the struggle over the area continues to this day.  In 1968 Rabbi Levinger and a group of his followers rented the main hotel in Hebron and then refused to leave.  It created a political crisis and violence which was resolved more than a year later when they were allowed by the Israeli authorities to establish a settlement town on the outskirts of town in an abandoned military base at Kiryat Arba.

First Urban Settlement in Hebron

In 1979 a group of forty women and children, led by Rabbi Levinger’s wife, took over and settled in a former hospital in central Hebron.  The takeover created severe conflicts and much bloodshed.  But the settlement was finally approved the the Israelis and at the present time there are five urban settlements which involve about 90 families.  Each settlement is protected by the Israeli army.

In 1997 the Hebron Agreement was established which divided the city into two sectors:  H1 and H2.  H1 is home to 120,000 Palestinians and is under the control of the Palestinian Authority and they have authority over 20-30 square kilometers.  H2, which is inhabited by 30,000 Palestinians remains under Israeli military control and has approximately 500 Jewish settlers.  However, since that time there has been an outflow of Palestinians because of the strict restrictions on movement and the presence of 16 checkpoints as well as the forced closure of many Palestinian businesses.

As you can imagine, Hebron has been a powder keg of tension and has involved violence on both sides.  The mayor of Hebron invited the Christian Peacemaker Teams help and they have been there since 1985.  According to Human Rights Watch, there has been a pretty consistent harassment of Palestinians in H2. An international unarmed observer force—the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) was established to help maintain a buffer between the Palestinian Arab population of the city and the Jews residing in their enclave in the old city.

Jean Fallon of the Christian Peacemakers

These settlements within the West Bank, which escalated after the “Six Day War” in 1967, are against the Geneva Convention which states that an occupying force cannot establish permanent residences with the occupied territory.  But Israelis refuse to recognize this international law.  Virtually all of the tension that we experience here is related to settlement activities and the army protection of settlers within the recognized Palestinian areas of the West Bank.  Linked with the building of the "Separation Barrier", life in Palestine for the average citizen, is a struggle for survival as family life, education, the economy, and normal human interaction is all affected by the milieu created by the harsh rule of the occupiers.

One of the reasons that we have five EA’s in Hebron is that we have been invited to help document what is happening here.  I have tremendous respect for the team that is here.  I am not certain that I would have had the physical and emotional stamina to be Hebron for three months, no doubt a consideration of EAPPI in my placement in Tulkarm.

Well, this a very basic explanation of what I could understand.  It helped me to understand my confusion after spending a few days with the Hebron EA team.  Please pray for Hebron and for peace in this area of the world.

Susanne