Hebron: A microcosm of Israel’s apartheid

Hebron, the Palestinian city that is home to around 35,000 Palestinians, is partially occupied by up to 800 Israeli settlers who have illegally taken over Palestinian homes in the heart of the city. Settlers there are the most radical of Zionists, inspired by the founding father of religious Zionism, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook, they believe that the whole of the occupied West Bank is Jewish by divine right. It was in Hebron in 1994 where American-Israeli extremist, Baruch Goldstein, perpetrated the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre, murdering 29 Palestinians and injuring 125 more. Since then, Israel’s occupation and ethnic cleansing in the city has intensified with each passing year. In 1997, apartheid was officially introduced to Hebron when the city was divided into sections H1 and H2 for Israeli settlers and Palestinians respectively. Large parts of the city are off limits to Palestinians. In some places, the settlers, who believe Palestinians should be eradicated from the city, literally live on top of those same Palestinians and subject them to daily harassment, violence and abuse. #Palestine #Hebron #Apartheid