Scuffle between Israelis and Palestinians: Soldiers try to keep the situation under control in Hebron on November 19.
Image: Reuters
Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians are rising in Hebron. The main cause for concern is that Israeli soldiers are showing solidarity with ultra-right politicians.
Dhe journey is over before it really begins. The well-packed coach has wound its way down the narrow road to the patriarch’s tomb in Hebron. However, Israeli police and soldiers have surrounded the large parking lot below the site sacred to Jews. As soon as the last of the six buses has pulled in, they close a yellow metal grille. The visitors – students, tourists, but also peace activists – who came to the city in the southern West Bank that day on the initiative of 30 human rights organizations cannot leave the parking lot.
The approximately 300 people gather around their group leaders. However, what they say about the occupation of Hebron and the streets in the Old City that Palestinians are not allowed to enter is difficult to understand. Because a few meters further, behind the fences, settlers are constantly yelling into a megaphone: “Shame! Shame!” and “Leftists are traitors!”
