Deacon Dave in Hebron, Palestine

Greetings from Hebron !

I arrived safely into Tel Aviv on Tuesday night. I was anxious about Israeli immigration because I had heard that all internationals were getting short visas; only as long as they said they were staying. They used to give a 3 month visa to everyone whatever you told them so I normally tell them I am staying in Jerusalem for 2 weeks to visit the holy sites and pray. If I tell them I am staying more than 2 weeks and that I don’t have a return ticket then I would get pulled aside for the more intensive questioning. In the event she took one look at my suit and collar, asked me what I was doing and didn’t ask how long I plan to stay. She gave me a moments panic when she asked me my father’s name and then told me to wait while she went off. I thought she had gone to get her supervisor but she came back with a pile of cards, stamped 3 months in my passport and gave it back with a card. As I hurried away I looked at the card to find that the Ministry of Tourism are assuring me that “Israel Loves Me” in a nice heart design. I’ll have to show it to the soldiers as they sometimes forget !

3 Nov

There has been a lot of fighting between Palestinians in Hebron in the last few weeks. Most of it has been a feud between two large families, the al-Jabari family and…………. Every week a couple of people die. Last week a group attacked the Palestinian police and wounded three officers. All the men in that whole family were rounded up. I was standing at the Crossing near Tel Rumeida settlement when we heard gunfire very close by. It is not easy to tell the difference between gunfire and fireworks which go off all the time. Also there is often a lot of celebratory shooting of guns at weddings. This time the soldiers next to me started to run around in a panic so I was pretty sure it was gunfire. Six settlers mobilised very fast and appeared with guns in front of the settlement. They ran up the stairs to the military observation post on the Abu Haikal land. Soldiers ran up the stairs amongst the Palestinian houses. Obviously none of them knew the area at all as you can see nothing from there. I walked around the houses and up the hill to see what was going on. On the way I met a Palestinian I knew coming down. He told me to keep away as there was shooting just over the hill on the other side of the concrete blocks in the Palestinian controlled zone. I came back down and told the soldier that the fighting was between Palestinians and not in Tel Rumeida. He kept getting me to repeat the name of the area where the fighting was happening, Wad al Hariya and was trying to repeat it into his radio. Then he got a nearby Palestinian to repeat it for him. A few minutes later he called me over to repeat it again. I’m glad we are not depending on the Israeli army to protect us. They obviously don’t have a clue what is going on or where they are stationed ! The settlers were pretty clueless too, running in a tight bunch up to the most exposed spot, all in white shirts. After a while the settlers relaxed and went back to the settlement. A few militia vehicles drove around to check the area.

Saturday 15 Sep

One person was killed and five injured in gun fights in the old City near Abraham's Mosque. A long standing feud between 2 Palestinians broke out into violence. Israeli soldiers closed the area but did not intervene until the fighting got close to one of the Jewish settlements. They shot the man who died.

Our area of Tel Rumeida and the rest of Hebron was unaffected by the violence. Ibrahimi School and the Shari'a Court were closed for the day and travelling was difficult near the mosque.

The incident raises serious questions about Israeli security if so many guns are being held within the Israeli controlled zone. It doeas show that so called security measures are not effective and are probably more intended to be harrassment of the civilian population.

The news from Jerusalem is that there are talks happening to propose removing all the settlers from inside Hebron. Apparently talks are happening with US officials and it is proposed to make an announcement to remove all the illegal outposts and many of the small settlements. In exchange Israel wopuld formally anex the large settlements around Jerusalem and the Jordan valley. This would break Palestine into 3 unconnected parts with no access to the international border with Jordan. Apparently they hope that Mahmoud Abbas will agree to this.

Settlers in Hebron have responded by bringing in reinforcements and extra weapons.

I am planning to return to Hebron for a further 3 months. I was not planning to go back until the summer but the local Palestinians from ISM contacted me and asked me to come back soon as they need someone with some experience to be responsible for all the new international volunteers spending time in Tel Rumeida.

I shall leave Sheffield on Valentine's Day, spend a few days with my family and fly from Heathrow at 20.25 on Saturday 17th Feb. There is a 7 hour wait in Muskat (where ever is that ? we all ask. Turns out to be in Oman on the far corner of the Arabian peninsular.) I arrive in Amman too late for the bus to Hebron so I will need to stay the night and head off in the morning. It is not far from Amman to Hebron but it can take a long time to cross the border at the Allenby Bridge. I will change buses in Jerusalem.