Palestinians & Israelis join in protest against Hebron settlement
Joint demonstration by Palestinians and Israelis in central Hebron, Feb. 24, 2017, to protest racist Jewish-only settlement in Hebron and violence by Hebron settlers and soldiers against Arab residents.
Israeli citizens – Jewish and Palestinian alike – will join local Palestinian residents of Hebron for a protest in the center of the divided West Bank city on Friday, February 24 2017 under the banner “Dismantle the ghetto, take the settlers out of Hebron.”
The protest is organized by the Hebron Defense Committee (HDC), the Hebron branches of national Palestinian political parties, and Palestinian civil society organizations. Despite the tensions, Israeli citizen activists from the Hithabrut-Tarabut movement – both Jews and Palestinians – will join the demonstration as well.
This protest will be held on the anniversary of the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre, in which American-Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein killed 29 Palestinian worshippers and wounded 125. Palestinian and Israeli activists also seek to protest the hundreds of lives lost and the thousands of lives permanently impacted by Israel’s illegal military occupation.
The massive Israeli military presence in Hebron, aimed at serving a few hundred Israeli settlers, has made the daily life of Hebron’s Palestinian residents intolerable for years.
Over 500 Palestinian-owned businesses in the center of Hebron have been shut down by Israeli military orders, and close to 800 additional Palestinian shop owners have been forced to close their business over the last several years due to economic and social strains caused by roadblocks, check points, and traffic prohibitions.
At the same time, armed Israeli settlers are permitted to move around freely in the areas where Palestinians are now forbidden to enter. Violence – often fatal – is common and 22 people have been killed in the city since October 2015.
Israeli authorities often prohibit human rights organizations, medical personnel, and other services from accessing certain neighborhoods in central Hebron.
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