CPT met with a woman living in the restricted area in H2 of Al-Khalil/Hebron under curfew and closures. She told us about the current situation in the area:
“Since the beginning of the war on October 7th, families have been suffering due to the complete closure of the area, and the situation is extremely dire and dangerous. On the third day, my husband attempted to dispose of the garbage outside the house, but he was surprised by five soldiers who attacked him violently, beat him, and then took him into the backyard. He was still recovering from a recent surgical procedure, and not much time had passed since the operation. My son woke up to the sounds of the soldiers’ screams and tried to go outside, but the soldier raised his weapon towards him, attempting to shoot him. When my daughter woke up and witnessed this situation, she fainted and couldn’t compose herself.
Our neighbor’s six-year-old son, after witnessing the amount of violence, couldn’t sleep at night. He holds his pillow and says he wants to leave the house because he no longer feels safe. He can’t open a window or a door to look outside because if he does anything, he immediately finds heavily armed soldiers threatening him.
The soldiers here are extremely aggressive and cruel. One of them keeps his eyes on our house, and if my daughter stands by the window, he immediately throws stones and sand at her, shouting and cursing in a barbaric manner in Hebrew while brandishing his weapon.
Our neighbor, who recently gave birth, asked the soldier for permission to go out and buy milk for her infant, but he pushed her and refused to let her leave. Going out now is an extremely complex process. We can only leave between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. and can only return to the area at 6:00 p.m. This means we have less than an hour to move around on the streets each day, and if you arrive to the checkpoint after 6:00 p.m., you need to find another place to spend the night.
If you have belongings and want to bring them in, it’s very difficult and requires a lot of negotiation with the soldiers, as well as inspections and harassment.
My daughter contracted measles, and I couldn’t take her to the doctor because I have to leave at 8:00 a.m. and I don’t have any place to stay until 6:00 p.m. Measles is a highly contagious disease, and I can’t go to any place for help.
We tried to contact the District Coordination Office and the Human Rights organizations, but there was no response and no one can do anything. Everyone in the house is unable to work, and no one can go out.
