Hebron: Palestinian Badr Al-Tamimi (46 years old) lives in the middle of the old town of Hebron , in the south of the occupied West Bank. It is under Israeli control and inhabited by groups of armed settlers.
Al-Tamimi said that his life had turned into a “nightmare,” as a result of arbitrary Israeli measures that had doubled since Tel Aviv began waging its devastating war on the Gaza Strip on October 7.
He continued, “Israel is committing organized crimes against residents, severe military manifestations in the Old City, unprecedented checkpoints, measures that have created a repellent environment for residents, and attacks on passers-by and shops.”
“Israeli measures have turned the lives of residents in Old Hebron into a nightmare a curfew that prevents shops from opening their doors, closures and military checkpoints, and a large deployment of the army and armed settlers,” Al-Tamimi added.
There are more than 100 military checkpoints in Hebron within one square kilometer, according to Palestinian media.
Denouncing the lack of security, Al-Tamimi stressed that “you could be killed or arrested at any moment, at best.”
Daily humiliation
Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, and the army has also escalated its operations, leaving 410 martyrs and about 4,600 wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, in addition to the arrest of 7,270 Palestinians, according to institutions concerned with prisoners, which are record numbers. Within about 5 months, compared to previous years.
About 400 settlers live in the Old City of Hebron in 4 settlement outposts, under the protection of 1,500 Israeli soldiers. About a thousand Palestinians left the town as a result of being subjected to practices of harassment, humiliation, and daily attacks by settlers and the army.
Entire markets and vital main streets were also closed, according to Palestinian officials and local residents.
In the old city there is the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is believed to have been built on the shrine of the Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him.
Since 1994, the mosque has been divided into two parts, one for Muslims, and the other for Jews, after a settler killed 29 Palestinians while they were performing dawn prayers, on February 25 of the same year.
Military checkpoints
According to Palestinian Sari Abu Sneina, the residents of the Old City are suffering from the increasing number of army patrols, the search and detention of young people, and the ban on entry to the town for non-residents.
Abu Sneina added, “Israeli measures, including closures and military checkpoints, have made the Old City, including the Ibrahimi Mosque, almost empty of visitors.”
In the vicinity of Abu Sneineh’s house, there are stores. He said, “Some of them are closed due to Israeli measures, and others are due to the lack of visitors and tourists Life here in Hebron has stopped. Israel wants to push the residents to emigrate.”
Prevent roaming
Israel turned the lives of Palestinians in the Old City of Hebron into “hell.” This is how Imad Hamdan, head of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (a Palestinian non-governmental organization based in the Old City), began his speech.
He added, “The situation has been catastrophic since before October 7, and today it has become more difficult, as Israel imposes a curfew on two-thirds of the city’s neighborhoods, which means that people’s lives have stopped, students do not go to school, schools are closed, and patients cannot reach clinics.”
He stressed that “everything has been disrupted... 85 percent of the stores are closed. This means economic devastation.”
Hamdan said that the Israeli authorities have been preventing the committee, since last October 7, from restoring and rehabilitating houses in the Old City, even though they are included on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
He stressed that “people’s lives are in terror due to the attacks of armed settlers, who take cover with their weapons and the army soldiers who support them in the attacks.”
Settlers have seized homes and shops in the Old City of Hebron since its occupation in 1967.
The Old City was classified in the 1993 Oslo Accords between the PLO and Israel as Area C, meaning it is completely under Israeli control.
United Nations: A quarter of Gaza's population is one step away from famine
United Nations - : At the invitation of Switzerland, Guyana, Algeria, and Slovenia, the UN Security Council began an open session on the food situation in Gaza and the spread of hunger, malnutrition, and acute malnutrition, especially among children.
The session was held under the mandate of Resolution 2417 of 2018, related to the weapon of hunger in armed conflicts.
The session was initially addressed by three officials from humanitarian organizations: Ramesh Rajasingham, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Maurizio Martina, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Karl Skow, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme.
The three officials warned that more than half a million Gazans were “one step away from famine.” This came during a session of the Security Council, today, Tuesday, devoted to discussing the issue of food security in Gaza.
Orizio Martina, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, painted a bleak scene in Gaza at a time when at least 378,000 residents of the Strip are suffering from the most severe stages of food insecurity. atheism.
“The main findings are alarming,” he warned, offering a sample of the severe impact of the war, from the devastated fishing sector, which provided the livelihood of more than 100,000 Gazans, to the widespread death of livestock due to air strikes or shortages of water and supplies. Fodder.
Martina said that halting hostilities, restoring the humanitarian space to provide multi-sectoral assistance and restoring services are “essential first steps in eliminating the risk of famine.”
“A critical priority is to restore safe and sustainable access to humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip and to all those in need of life-saving assistance,” Martina said. In addition, basic services must be restored, including cross-border water pipelines, communications, electricity distribution and health facilities, he noted.
“All parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, international human rights law and the protection of civilians,” Martina said. An immediate ceasefire and peace are a prerequisite for food security.”
He added that as of February 15, it was assessed that 46.2 percent of all agricultural land had been damaged, stressing that agricultural infrastructure had been destroyed, with the highest levels of destruction including sheep and dairy farms. More than a quarter of the wells were also destroyed, and the greatest destruction was in northern Gaza and Gaza City. 339 hectares of agricultural greenhouses were also destroyed, the most severe in Gaza City, northern Gaza, and Khan Yunis. The olive and citrus harvest, which provides an important source of income, has been affected by the hostilities. At the same time, severe restrictions on aid delivery made it impossible to carry out meaningful humanitarian operations, he added.
Addressing the Security Council remotely, UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham said the situation in Gaza was dire, leaving practically the entire population dependent on “insufficient humanitarian food aid to survive,” and said the situation would get worse. He added, “Military operations, insecurity, and widespread restrictions on the entry and delivery of basic goods have led to the destruction of food and agricultural production.”
Briefing reporters in New York before the Security Council meeting, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said there were multiple factors hampering relief efforts, primarily the lack of a ceasefire, “a lack of respect for international law and the collapse of law and order in Gaza.” There is a slight shortage of trucks to transport vital supplies.”
He added: “There has been very little effective coordination with the Israeli authorities on deconfliction” and the ability to move convoys to the north.