Hebron

hard to describe how shocking the situation is in Hebron. You may have heard on the news a couple of days ago that St Tony was heckled in Hebron. he happened to be in the Ibrahimi Mosque when one of the olive picking groups arrived. two Muslim girls approached him and he thought they wanted to be photographed with him. was taken aback when they refused. was further taken aback when they took him to task over his failure to help the Palestinians and told him he would have been better spending less time invading Iraq. never one to like being confronted with the truth he was led away by his bodyguards. apparently he also said he didn't have time to spare to greet the cyclists for peace who were due in Hebron about half an hour later. his outspoken sister-in-law and her daughter were part of the group. what a hypocrite he is.

anyway we were taken on a tour of the old city. Hebron is 6,000 years old and beautiful. at least it was before the Israeli settlers decided to occupy some of the houses. whenever a settler puts his caravan/belongings on Palestinian territory the army immediately come and provide security for them. there are 500 settlers occupying houses in the old town and 2,000 soldiers. their presence could not be missed. the army's carved up the old city into four areas and effectively closed it down economically. there are over 100 barriers in Hebron ranging from huge concrete blocks to metal gates to barbed wire. you name it, they've got it. a thriving city is now no longer functioning. but for the Palestinians locked inside these areas, daily life means going through a checkpoint every time they want to go into and out of their own streets. schoolchildren, even the little ones, are searched each day, twice a day. schools within this cordonned off area now start at 9.30 in the morning, not 8 like other schools. there's a school called Cordoba just inside the barrier and the settlers used to come and throw things at the children. the school now functions because an Italian human rights group came and oversees things - stopping the settlers from their barbaric acts. we walked down streets which used to be bustling with activity but now are almost empty. overhead are wire nets with rocks not stones, rocks and all kinds of stuff thrown down on Hebronites by fanatic settlers. I've taken photos and will post them later.

there's a street, actually there are several, where the Israeli army welded the front doors shut so they can only leave their houses via the back. however many of these old houses do not have a back door so they have to leave by the windows and walk across the roof of a neighbouring house to get down. imagine if you were really sick or about to give birth. it also means that the social life of the Palestinian community has been cut. Palestinian families are large and it is common for family members to live close together. however if they have the misfortune to live in this particular quarter, instead of a 50 metre walk to their brother's they have to make a 12 km trek around the checkpoints. cars are no longer allowed in so whatever they need they have to carry. apparently the Israeli Supreme Court ruled this illegal but the military ignored it and carried on anyway.

at the start of the last century before all this terrible stuff started, there was a jewish community in Hebron. they were Palestinian and lived peacefully with their Palestinian muslim neighbours. at partition they had to leave and some of they moved to Israel. the settlers who have illegally occupied Palestinian houses in this area say they are reclaiming jewish property. this is not so. the original jewish population refuse to move back and say they will not do so until the settlers and army leave. so the courts say it is illegal and the jews who used to live there say it's illegal.

the Reuters photographer who was with us the other day when we were olive picking on Amon's land was also with us today but wandered off when we went for a seminar on the rehabilitation of Hebron. he told us he saw children of settlers playing in the street (6/7 year olds) and stopped to talk to them and photograph them. they took him to their school where he took more pictures. then one of the 6 year olds pulled 3 bullets from his pocket and said 'look, we have ammunition'. then he said 'we have more at home' and invited Phil back with him. Phil went and said the house was crammed with guns and ammunition. he was very upset - as we were when we heard it.

there's an amazing organisation called Hebron Rehabilitation Committee and they're rebuilding the old city with the aim of getting Palestinian families to return. the pictures they showed us were amazing and I'll post the link to their website when I get home. so far they've attracted 5,000 Palestinians back and their aim is to get 10,000. the project is funded by most European countries and has won major awards. Blair had the same presentation as we had just before he went to the Ibrahimi Mosque. by the way to get in to the mosque you have to go through a checkpoint with armed soldiers. muslims who pray 5 times a day go through this 5 times a day as well as all the other checkpoints and barriers to get to the mosque itself. it's one of the holiest of muslim places and where Abraham is buried.

I've taken lots of photos today but haven't had a chance to look at them properly and don't know how to upload on this system. but I'll do it when I get home and let you see them.