CPTnet
July 22, 2003
HEBRON: Turquoise awnings and the failure of the Hebron Protocol
By Dianne Roe
When I tried to visit Ma'moun last week after he was beaten by an Israeli
soldier, (see Hebron Update, July 15, 2003) I looked past the checkpoint
toward the turquoise awnings adorning Duboyya Street where he lives.
The soldiers said, "No, you cannot go there." I also cannot go past the
turquoise awnings on Shuhada Street. Only Israeli soldiers, Israeli
settlers and people with the right "tickets" are allowed to walk in certain
areas of Hebron's Old City.
That seems strange to me. I have been here with CPT since 1995. I remember
when USAID erected the turquoise awnings and rehabilitated the building
facades. It was part of the January 1997 Hebron agreement stipulating the
return of Shuhada Street to Palestinian usage.
In the spring of 1994, after Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein massacred
twentynine praying Muslims, the Israeli army put the Palestinians under
curfew and closed the roads. When CPT came to Hebron in June 1995, Shuhada
was still closed but shop owners awaited the reopening. According to the
1997 Hebron Protocol "the movement of vehicles on the Shuhada Road will be
gradually returned...to the same situation which existed prior to February
1994." In article 7 of the Protocol, "the leaders agreed that the process
of reopening Shuhada Road will begin immediately, and will be completed
within four months . . ."
In the spring and summer of 1997 CPT witnessed the attempted implementation
of the American plan. USAID workers completed their part of the bargain in
spite of many welldocumented attempts by Israeli settler groups to thwart
their efforts.
In 1999 when I talked with shop owners, the Israeli government still had
not implemented its part of the protocol. Palestinian shopkeepers tried to
reopen the large wholesale vegetable market that abuts Shuhada Street on
the agreed date but Israeli settlers thwarted them. Soldiers stopped most
Palestinian cars from entering the street. Only those who lived on the
street were allowed to enter, and on many occasions Israeli settlers
vandalized those.
Now, more than four years later, Palestinians cannot even walk on Shuhada
Street. Israeli soldiers have bolted the shops closed. Israeli settlers
have broken into shops from the back and stolen goods. Palestinian
children who live on Shuhada must find another exit if they are to go to
school, often from rooftop to rooftop, down ladders and out of windows.
The beautiful iron grillwork and street lights from the USAID project have
been vandalized by settlers.
Here in the chicken market where our team lives, a heavy gate, erected on
December 25, 2002, prevents our entry onto Shuhada. From our rooftop I can
look down at turquoise awnings. They are a reminder of a time when our
Palestinian neighbors had hope that life on Shuhada could resume.
They are also a reminder of a promise made in January 1997. Will the "Road
Map" now include Shuhada? Is there any hope for Palestinians living in
Hebron's Old City?
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