Seeking safety in the heart of the old city of Al-Khalil, the Abo Jihad family struggles with one of the Occupation’s silent pressures: movement restriction.
I live in the same city as them, but under different circumstances. They live in Harat al-Salaymeh, an alley in Al-Khalil’s old city, which is part of the restricted area. There, within one of the most controlled areas of the West Bank, people suffer discrimination caused by the Occupation’s surrounding checkpoints and military presence. It’s a place where daily life can be described as anything but ordinary.
Harat al-Salaymeh has only two access points: checkpoint 160 and the Al-Jabari alley. Mr Abo Jihad told us about the struggles he and his family face, and the struggles of his neighbors.
The list
Before 7 October 2023, residents of Harat al-Salaymeh had been included in a census, as had those living in many other alleyways. This is one tool in the implementation of apartheid and mass incarceration. The Abo Jihad family struggles every day with the process of passing the checkpoint, just like all the other Palestinian families who live in the area. Mr Abo Jihad said that people must show their IDs at the checkpoint, and any name not listed would be kicked out of the area. “If we wish to host any of our family-members, who live outside the restricted area, they cannot even visit us because their names are not on the list”, he said. “I remember the last Eid al-Adha, they told us that we could host the rest of our families, who live outside the area. But on the first morning of Eid they just closed the checkpoint and no one could go in or out. We are forbidden to enjoy our holidays, but on theirs they close us down and enjoy themselves.”
Daily and nightly stress since 7 October
“I will tell you about our enforced way of life”, said Mr Abo Jihad. “You cannot even imagine it. The roads are closed. We are forbidden to look through the windows in our house or go on our rooftop. On top of that, we can’t sleep at night because of the noise of settlers singing, knocking on the doors of Arab houses, or investigating their homes. There is the noise of construction machines in the street. Early in the morning we wait and watch over our children to make sure that they pass the checkpoint. And then we start thinking about our own struggle. We can only pass through the checkpoint in the morning, between 7 and 8am, and we must return home in the afternoon, between 4 and 5pm. All the workshops and grocery stores are closed, so we have to carry everything we need from outside the restricted area to our homes. And in between we have the checkpoint, where every item will be checked and searched. If they have any suspicions about anything it won’t pass. There’s a lack of every daily essential – bread, milk, children’s diapers, oil. As I mentioned, when you live in this area you have to carry all these things a long way home, and they’re heavy, which affects the human body.”
Household requirements
To feed and heat your family, the main requirement is energy – gas or wood. Yet here in Harat al-Salaymeh it’s a struggle to get gas cylinders in – they can’t pass through the checkpoint and, anyway, since there is no way to transport them, you would have to carry them, all 24kg. Recently IOF soldiers decided to allow Palestinian residents to bring gas canisters through every Wednesday, but still they must carry them. How could an old man or woman, a child, a sick person, do that?
The lockdown restricts Palestinian movement in the area from 3pm on Friday until Sunday morning. Mr Abo Jihad told us that even if you have an emergency, a woman giving birth, for example, it’s simply forbidden to leave – women must leave the area if they are close to labor. If any Arab has a medical emergency, the ambulance cannot cross until it coordinates with the Israel civil administration, which must accompany the medical team to make sure the emergency is real.
Arrested for illegal entry – to their own home
Mr Abo Jihad and two of his sons were detained for 6 hours in Wadi al-Hussain because they jumped from the neighbor’s roof to reach their house after the checkpoint had closed. Recently the IOF had been opening the checkpoint from 6am to 10pm, so nobody could get home after that. Mr Abo Jihad and his sons were detained because they were considered as illegally entering their own house. Who could imagine that?
“They took two of my sons to Wadi al-Hussain” said Mr Abo Jihad, “which we know as a military base and we knew they would be heavily punished. When my sons returned, after a long stressful night, they said the IOF put buckets over their heads and hit them all night. They were forced to kneel on stones”, Mr Abo Jihad continued, “and until now one of them still suffers from the physical and psychological abuse of detention.”
When the checkpoint is closed
The checkpoint can be closed for any “security reason” – even if the internet connection is unstable, for example. While Palestinians cannot live an ordinary life in “ordinary” circumstances, the alley becomes horrifying during Jewish holidays: Palestinian residents cannot leave their homes to even buy a loaf of bread or get medicine. You simply cannot move. The Abo Jihad family has to leave home during Jewish holidays, because if they stay home they would be forbidden to move, to go out, to go on the roof or into the garden.
Still living in the restricted area
These are some of the types of silent oppression that Palestinians endure living under enforced restrictions. Mr Abo Jihad told us that as many as 50% of the families in the area have left out of fear – for their daughters, sons, and themselves.
The Abo Jihad family has a small piece of land next to their house. But under restrictions, they cannot cultivate on it, because he needs permission to do so. At least Mr Abo Jihad has found a place to sit, breathe the air, and drink a cup of coffee in the giant cage of his neighbourhood. This piece of land is his only connection to the holy land.
