CPT: Palestine
Abu Saad creates art works in bottles of colored sand and is always ready with a cup of coffee and a story. Several years ago, Abu Saad went to Jordan to teach them how to fly commercial airplanes. He learned that Palestinians are not allowed to do that; but, as he says, “That’s not the […]
‘What’s your name?’ ‘How old are you?’ ‘Are you married?’ – the last a surprising question from the lips of a small Palestinian child trying out her English on the streets of Hebron. Adults are more cautious: ‘Where (are) you from?’ is a common ice-breaker…
Gasim and Waleed are two brothers who were born, and have grown up in the Old City of al-Khalil (Hebron). They are from a big family, with five brothers and three sisters. We spoke with them about what their life has been like, what their hopes are and what they see as important to create change. G: “I left my school when I was 12 years old. I left my school because when you are born in the Old City of Hebron, in the middle of Israeli settlements, and the military it’s difficult to live. ..
The Occupation of the Palestinian Territories has been in existence for the past fifty (50) years. There are numerous daily reminders to a Palestinian how this Occupation has wreaked havoc on their lives and the lives of their children. Few Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza are old enough to know what it is to walk freely without Id checks..
UPDATE At 2 am, in the middle of the night, the parents of this 14-year-old boy received a phone call. They were able to go and collect their son after the Israeli soldiers detained him for 5 and a half hours. He was not charged. He was not taken to the police station. He had been detained […]
On the 14th January 2017 Israeli paratroopers detained Ghassan a 20 year old Palestinian man from Hebron. Six paratrooper soldiers were in a Palestinian neighborhood, in the Old City, where they were checking the ID’s of people going by. Ghassan was in a car with his cousin when they were stopped…
“We live in a prison. We can’t move freely. There are checkpoints everywhere, and you never know if you will be allowed to pass, or if you will be stopped, IDed and searched. This can happen even on the street or on the sidewalk. How can we expect customers to come to our shops?” Jamal […]
On December 21st the director of UNICEF, Mr. Geert Cappelaere, and six other local staff visited Al Khalil. The purpose of their visit was to visit Qurtuba School on Shuhada St., which runs past Beit Hadassah where some of Hebron’s most violent Israeli ‘settlers’ live.
For Christmas eve the team took the day off and spent the evening in Bethlehem with a few of our local friends from Hebron. We had dinner outside looking onto Manager Square where the Christmas tree, lights and performances were taking place. We shared shisha, hot chocolates and listened to carols in Manager Square. It was a lovely […]
We stopped by a shopkeeper friend in the Old City recently for tea. She had just had a bad experience on the holiday the Israeli settlers celebrate here in Hebron commemorating Abraham’s purchase of Sarah’s burial place. Hundreds of settlers had come through the market and invaded the shops…