Editing Hebron (section)

=== Division of Hebron ===
{{Main|Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Hebron}}
[[File:Hebron073.JPG|thumb|[[Racial segregation]] in the city with a road block with Hebrew inscription "מוות לערבים" meaning "''[[Death to Arabs]]''"]]Hebron was the one city excluded from the interim agreement of September 1995 to restore rule over all Palestinian West Bank cities to the [[Palestinian Authority]].<ref name="Kimmerling 2003 443" /> IDF soldiers see their job as being to protect Israeli settlers from Palestinian residents, not to police the Israeli settlers. IDF soldiers are instructed to leave violent Israeli settlers for the police to deal with.<ref>''Haaretz'', June 22, 2020, [https://www.972mag.com/hebron-israeli-soldiers-protect-settlers/ In Hebron, Protecting Palestinians is Not an Israeli Soldier's Job]</ref><ref>''Haaretz'', February 3, 2020, [https://www.972mag.com/jared-kushner-soldiers-occupation/ Jared Kushner Does Not See the Brutal Occupation I Helped Carry Out: As a Former Soldier, I Enforced Two Separate Legal Systems for Israelis and Palestinians--The Trump Plan Wants to Make This Reality Permanent].</ref> Since The [[Oslo Agreement]], violent episodes have been recurrent in the city. The [[Cave of the Patriarchs massacre]] took place on February 25, 1994, when [[Baruch Goldstein]], an Israeli physician and resident of [[Kiryat Arba]], opened fire on Muslims at prayer in the [[Ibrahimi Mosque]], killing 29, and wounding 125 before the survivors overcame and killed him.<ref>Nabeel Abraham,  [http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0002775.html What About The Victims?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192614/http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0002775.html|date=March 4, 2016}}, ''Lies of Our Times'', May 1994, pp 3–6.</ref> Standing orders for Israeli soldiers on duty in Hebron disallowed them from firing on fellow Jews, even if they were shooting Arabs.<ref>{{harvnb|Bovard|2004|p=265}}. Meir Tayar, commander of the Hebron Border Police at the time testified that, 'Instructions are to take cover, wait until the clip is empty or the gun jams and then overpower him. Even if I had been there (in the mosque), I could not have done anything-there were special orders.'</ref> This event was condemned by the Israeli Government, and the extreme right-wing [[Kach and Kahane Chai|Kach]] party was banned as a result.<ref>{{harvnb|Commission of Inquiry|1994}}.</ref> The Israeli government also tightened restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in H2, closed their vegetable and meat markets, and banned Palestinian cars on Al-Shuhada Street.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedland|2012|p=23}}.</ref> The park near the Cave of the Patriarchs for recreation and barbecues is off-limits for Arab Hebronites.<ref>{{harvnb|Levy|2012}}</ref> Following the 1995 [[Oslo Agreement]] and subsequent 1997 [[Hebron Agreement]], Palestinian cities were placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the [[Palestinian Authority]], with the exception of Hebron,<ref name="Alimi 2013 178"/> which was split into two sectors: H1 is controlled by the Palestinian Authority and H2 – which includes the [[Old City of Hebron]] – remained under the military control of Israel.<ref name="Kimmerling 2003 443">{{harvnb|Kimmerling|Migdal|2003|p=443}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/c7d7b824004ff5c585256ae700543ebc?OpenDocument |title=Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron |date=January 17, 1997 |publisher=United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024142822/http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/c7d7b824004ff5c585256ae700543ebc?opendocument |archive-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref> Around 120,000 Palestinians live in H1, while around 30,000 Palestinians along with around 700 Israelis remain under Israeli military control in H2. {{As of|2009}}, a total of 86 Jewish families lived in Hebron.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gurkow |first=Lazer |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/624279/jewish/A-Visit-to-Hebron.htm |title=Chabad.org |publisher=Chabad |access-date=November 12, 2009}}</ref> The IDF ([[Israel Defense Forces]]) may not enter H1 unless under Palestinian escort. Palestinians cannot approach areas where settlers live without special permits from the IDF.<ref name="hebron-wp" /> The Jewish settlement is widely considered to be illegal by the international community, although the Israeli government disputes this.<ref name="BBC_GC4">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |title=The Geneva Convention |publisher=BBC News |date=December 10, 2009 |access-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Old City of Hebron.jpg|thumb|Old City of Hebron]] [[File:HebronOldCityTrash.jpg|thumb|A net installed in the Old City to prevent garbage dropped by Israeli settlers into a Palestinian area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ward |first=Hazel |date=May 23, 2011 |title=West Bank B&B in Hebron's Old City fully booked |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/news/west-bank-bb-in-hebrons-old-city-fully-booked/story-e6frg8ro-1226061421155 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912191054/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/news/west-bank-bb-in-hebrons-old-city-fully-booked/story-e6frg8ro-1226061421155 |archive-date=September 12, 2012 |access-date=November 18, 2022 |website=[[The Australian]]}}</ref>|left|270x270px]]
Over the period of the [[First Intifada]] and [[Second Intifada]], the Jewish community was subjected to attacks by Palestinian militants, especially during the periods of the intifadas; which saw 3 fatal stabbings and 9 fatal shootings in between the first and [[second Intifada]] (0.9% of all fatalities in Israel and the West Bank) and 17 fatal shootings (9 soldiers and 8 settlers) and 2 fatalities from a bombing during the second Intifada,<ref name="mfa.gov.il2">{{cite web |date=September 24, 2000 |title=Fatal Terrorist Attacks in Israel Since the DOP (Sep. 1993) |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Fatal+Terrorist+Attacks+in+Israel+Since+the+DOP+-S.htm |access-date=April 13, 2007 |publisher=[[Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]}}</ref> and thousands of rounds fired on it from the hills above the Abu-Sneina and Harat al-Sheikh neighborhoods. On November 15, 2002, 12 Israeli soldiers were killed (Hebron Brigade commander Colonel [[Dror Weinberg]] and two other officers, 6 soldiers and 3 members of the security unit of Kiryat Arba) in [[2002 Hebron ambush|an ambush]].<ref>{{harvnb|Harel|2002}}.</ref> Two [[Temporary International Presence in Hebron]] observers were killed by Palestinian gunmen in a shooting attack on the road to Hebron<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s514316.htm Two Norwegian observers killed near Hebron: Israeli TV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021161007/http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s514316.htm|date=October 21, 2007}}, ABC News online, March 27, 2002.</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 26, 2002 |title=Two Norwegian observers killed near Hebron |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1388887/Two-Norwegian-observers-killed-near-Hebron.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1388887/Two-Norwegian-observers-killed-near-Hebron.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |access-date=November 12, 2009 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223944/http://www.tiph.org/en/News/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=1579 Two TIPH members killed near Hebron]}}, Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron website, March 27, 2002.</ref> On March 27, 2001, a Palestinian sniper targeted and killed the Jewish baby [[Murder of Shalhevet Pass|Shalhevet Pass]]. The sniper was caught in 2002.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} Hebron is one of the three West Bank towns from which the majority of suicide bombers originate. In May 2003, three students of the Hebron Polytechnic University carried out three separate suicide attacks.<ref>{{cite book |author=Diego Gambetta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=211orfsU0UYC |title=Making Sense of Suicide Missions |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-929797-9 |page=113}}</ref> In August 2003, in what both Islamic groups described as a retaliation, a 29-year-old preacher from Hebron, Raed Abdel-Hamed Mesk, broke a unilateral Palestinian ceasefire by killing 23 and injured over 130 in a [[Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing|bus bombing]] in Jerusalem.<ref>Chris McGreal (August 20, 2003). [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/20/israel1 "Palestinian suicide bomber kills 20 and shatters peace process"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref><ref>Ed O'Loughlin (August 21, 2003). [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/20/1061368359339.html "Ceasefire illusion just blown away"]. ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. Hamas claimed it marked the anniversary of [[Denis Michael Rohan]]'s attempt to burn the Al-Aqsa mosque. Islamic Jihad claimed it was in revenge for the killing of a leader, Ahmed Sidr, in Hebron.</ref> In 2007, the Palestinian population in H2 declined due to Israeli security measures such as extended curfews, strict restrictions on movement,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/english/press_releases/20071231.asp |title=B'Tselem – Press Releases – 31 Dec. 2007: B'Tselem: 131 Palestinians who did not participate in the hostilities killed by Israel's security forces in 2007 |publisher=B'tselem |date=December 31, 2007 |access-date=November 12, 2009}}</ref> the closure of Palestinian businesses and settler harassment.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israeli NGO issues damning report on situation in Hebron |url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/a17e4c9ace4785bac1256d87004bca62 |agency=Agence France-Presse |website=ReliefWeb |date=August 19, 2003 |access-date=March 30, 2007 |archive-date=October 21, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021152734/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/a17e4c9ace4785bac1256d87004bca62 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/Download/200308_Hebron_Area_H2_Eng.pdf |title=Hebron, Area H-2: Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians |date=August 2003 |publisher=[[B'Tselem]]}} "In total, 169 families lived on the three streets in September 2000, when the intifada began. Since then, seventy-three families—forty-three percent—have left their homes."</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YAOI-6UN95C?OpenDocument |title=Palestine Refugees: a challenge for the International Community |date=October 10, 2006 |agency=United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East |website=ReliefWeb |quote=Settler violence has forced out over half the Palestinian population in some neighborhoods in the downtown area of Hebron. This once bustling community is now eerily deserted, and presents a harrowing existence for those few Palestinians who dare to remain or who are too deep in poverty to move elsewhere. |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20061017225650/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YAOI-6UN95C?OpenDocument |archive-date=October 17, 2006}}</ref><ref name="btselem2007">{{cite web| url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/Summaries/200705_Hebron.asp | title=Ghost Town: Israel's Separation Policy and Forced Eviction of Palestinians from the Center of Hebron |date=May 2007 | publisher=[[B'Tselem]]}}</ref> Palestinians are barred from using [[Al-Shuhada Street]], a principal commercial thoroughfare that is locally nicknamed "Apartheid Street" as a result.<ref name="hebron-wp">{{cite news|author=Janine Zacharia|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/07/AR2010030702702.html|title=Letter from the West Bank: In Hebron, renovation of holy site sets off strife|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 8, 2010}}</ref><ref>David Shulman (March 22, 2013). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130323220130/http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2013/mar/22/hope-hebron/ "Hope in Hebron"]. ''New York Review of Books''.<br />"Those who still live on Shuhada Street can't enter their own homes from the street. Some use the rooftops to go in and out, climbing from one roof to another before issuing into adjacent homes or alleys. Some have cut gaping holes in the walls connecting their homes to other (often deserted) houses and thus pass through these buildings until they can exit into a lane outside or up a flight of stairs to a passageway on top of the old casba market. According to a survey conducted by the human-rights organization B'Tselem in 2007, 42 percent of the Palestinian population in the city center of Hebron (area H2)—some 1,014 families—have abandoned their homes and moved out, most of them to area H1, now under Palestinian control."</ref>

Israeli organization [[B'Tselem]] states that there have been "grave violations" of Palestinian human rights in Hebron because of the "presence of the settlers within the city". The organization cites regular incidents of "almost daily physical violence and property damage by settlers in the city", curfews and restrictions of movement that are "among the harshest in the Occupied Territories", and violence by Israeli border policemen and the IDF against Palestinians who live in the city's H2 sector.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hebron, Area H-2: Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians |url=http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/200308_Hebron_Area_H2.asp}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mounting Human Rights Crisis in Hebron |url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2001/04/11/isrlpa241.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081115080658/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2001/04/11/isrlpa241.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2008 |access-date=March 29, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Israeli human rights group slams Hebron settlers |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=331234&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y}}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]], Palestinian areas of Hebron are frequently subject to indiscriminate firing by the IDF, leading to many casualties.<ref name="HRW-storm2">{{harvnb|Bouckaert|2001|pp=5, 40–43, 48, 71–72}}</ref> One former IDF soldier, with experience in policing Hebron, has testified to [[Breaking the Silence (non-governmental organization)|Breaking the Silence]], that on the briefing wall of his unit a sign describing their mission aim was hung that read: "To disrupt the routine of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood."{{sfn|Freedland|2012|p=22}} Hebron mayor [[Mustafa Abdel Nabi]] invited the [[Christian Peacemaker Teams]] to assist the local Palestinian community in opposition to what they describe as Israeli military occupation, collective punishment, settler harassment, [[House demolition in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict|home demolitions]] and land expropriation.<ref>{{cite web |title=History/Mission of CPT |url=http://www.cpt.org/publications/history.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011002839/http://cpt.org/publications/history.php |archive-date=October 11, 2008 |publisher=Christian Peacemaker Teams}}</ref> In 2017, [[Temporary International Presence in Hebron]] (TIPH) issued a confidential report covering their 20 years of work in Hebron. The report, based in part on over 40,000 incidents reported during this period, stated that Israel violated international law in Hebron and has breached the rights of residents as established by the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]]. The report claimed that Israel  violated Article 49 of the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]], which prohibits the deportation of civilians from occupied territory. Israeli settlement in Hebron was also cited as a violation.<ref name="20yrs">{{cite web | title=Confidential 20-year monitoring report: Israel regularly breaks int'l law in Hebron | website=Haaretz | date=December 17, 2018 | url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-confidential-report-claims-israel-regularly-breaks-international-law-in-hebron-1.6747523 | access-date=December 17, 2018}}</ref>