Hebron: The Reality of Israeli Settlement in Palestine // Behind The Wall

it's widely known that there are Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory but very few people know what the lives of people actually like in these isolated districts I traveled to Hebron a Palestina City that had Israel's helmets right in the middle of the city itself and managed to enter Jewish neighborhood surrounded by barbed wire fences and checkpoints in this video I'm gonna share what I saw and experience in this controversial section of Hebron this video is the second video of my Hebron trip so if you haven't seen the previous one please check it out as well from the link in the description as I showed in my previous video when I participated in the Hebron CD tour the check points to the Jewish neighborhood was closed and we couldn't get in so on the next day I decided to go back to the border and explore the settlement by myself the checkpoint in the west van Gogh Palestine are barriers erected by the Israel Security Forces Palestinians always have to be inspected when they cross the border and often their movement is not permitted double divides Hebron into two sections H1 which is governed by Palestine and H2 an Israeli settlement one of the key dividing points is the tomb of Abraham or Ibrahim which is called Ibrahim mosque by Muslims and the Tomb of the Patriarchs by Jews it's located in H2 but is emergingly important to both cultures so Palestinians are allowed to get there through the nearby checkpoints to pray [Music] I waited in life for the checkpoint with local Palestinians so I just got static point but they didn't even ask for my passport they just asked me where I'm from and I see Japan and they just told me how much they don't want you [Music] The Joy Sergio was actually quite friendly to me but I could see that was probably because I was a four inch worst crossing the border in Palestine is much easier for foreigners than Palestinians who are actually living there is this device is divided for Jewish as a compromise today this holy place is shared between Jews and Muslims by giving it in the middle as both as synagogue and a mosque the entrance to each space are different but everyone must pass through another Israeli security checkpoint regardless of their destination here you are asked what your religion is because the Muslims and the Jews are not allowed to go to the other side if you do not identify with either religion you usually can access both sides as a spectator foreign side was a beautiful and Southern mosque with ottoman and the mamaluk architecture and I almost couldn't believe there was a synagogue on the other side of the wall when I re-entered on the Jewish side the atmosphere was completely different appeared when the Jews prank and reciting overseas [Music] the 2000 year old building was built by King Herod the Great and is considered to be the oldest continuously used prayer structure in the world which also has a contentious and bloody history over centuries and even today the building was not always segregated between Jews and museums like it is today it has passed hands from Jews to Christians to Muslims over time while there have been numerous attacks at or near sight often targeting Jews the most notorious event for Palestinians is a 1994 Massacre in February 1994 an Israeli American Settler opened fire on the mosque killing 29 Palestinians and enjoying 125 others some Palestinians even believe that Israeli military knew the attack was going to happen meanwhile some Israelis believed that that Hitler was acting in response to reports of an impending terror attack on Jews at the site in response to the 1994 attack the Israeli Defense Force closed the mosque for nine months and built up military checkpoints the next year he was agreed that the site will be divided for use as a synagogue and a mosque while using the Muslims that are only permitted access to the other side under 10 religious holy days of the year neither side is particularly happy with this Arrangement but that's how the holy site is shared today I left the building and I started to explore other parts of the H3 area there are some souvenir shops run by Palestinians around the holy site however just on the other side of the street there are always Israel soldiers on the lookout as well as many Jewish prayers just by being there I paid more attention than each one [Music] if you ask the personal inhabitants are happy to tell visitors about their harsh lives there but only quietly okay thank you you know here the situation is very difficult yes are you filming yeah is it okay because I will tell you about the situation yes you can film after okay she showed me around the area near the shop explaining which houses are passing as houses and which are Israelites okay it's very quiet yes it's all the clothes here 's a little tour ended quite simply because he couldn't go further so here who is there I'm not allowed okay Palestine needs to go there I have to go from here so you can't walk on the street I have to walk it from this side although there are no walls or a rapid wire fences like the ones on the border there are still a lot of Israeli checkpoints which are constantly monitoring Palestinians movements on the other hand I as a Japanese could pass through it easily by showing my passport [Music] the Jewish residential area was very quiet and even fit a bit eerie who used to live here were expelled from their homes sometimes I found signs of Jewish life there but mostly I just saw a lot of Israeli flags and graffiti of the Star of David the Jewish symbol drawn on the wall of houses so I guess there used to be a lot of houses and shops here but now they're all closed and there's no one here however just like many other conflicts there are two sides to the story as well according to the Old Testament Hebron was founded in 1730 BC the city has fallen in the hands of different Empires and religions throughout its history claimed that there has been a continuous Jewish presence in Hebron throughout history and also referenced the Hebrew massacre in 1929 when Arab nationalists rebelled against the Jewish Community after their leaders spread the false rumor that the Muslims were being killed in Jerusalem dozens of Jews living in the city were attacked and 67 were killed after walking around the Jewish neighborhood I tried to go to Palestina neighborhood when Israel soldiers at the checkpoint stopped me they said I couldn't walk into that area because it was too dangerous but the Palestinian tour guide I talked to with the day before suggested that I explored area so I really wanted to check it out after a little negotiation they allowed me to enter on the condition that I walk around only a short while and come back quickly and we talked for like 10 minutes then finally they were like okay you can go but be careful I wasn't sure they meant it's dangerous for Jewish people who are for foreigners the area was also quiet with a lot of abandoned houses but I met some Palestinian people hello hi hello this guy is the owner of one of the very few shops that are still open in the area do you live here yeah okay this is my uh oh it's your shop I need water hello hi welcome thank you somehow this looked quite new and modern which I assumed were Jewish residences from the Israeli flags hanging on the windows I probably feel the most tension here encountering a more Israeli soldiers than other areas who even asked me to show them the video I was filming a couple of times today the Palestinian population in H2 is declining due to the impact of Israeli measures including extending curfews restrictions on pedestrian movement the prohibition of vehicle movement and the closure of shops and other commercial buildings all of the above applying only the Palestinian residents personally I oppose Israel's settlement since I considered to be a clear violation of Human Rights first on Palestinians and it is also against international law however the visit to Hebron once again reminded me that it said has their own perspective when you ask Palestinians they'll tell you how Israeli soldiers have suppressed and killed so many Palestinians but when you ask Israelis they'll tell you about the people who died from Palestinian suicide bombings Hebron is a better ground of the Patriarchs and one of the most sacred cities for Jews and the Muslims alike it's very sad that instead of promoting a connection between the main monotheistic religions this has made Hebron the most fought over City on the West Bank on the way to the exit of H2 I found a little boy who was taking a video of an abandoned townscape with his small handheld cameras I had no idea what he was filming for but I couldn't have wondering how they segregated city looked through his eyes [Music] [Music]

Channel: Nomadic Wes

Views: 502,943

Keywords: hebron, hebron travel, hebron israeli settlement, hebron jewish settlement, nomadic wes, jewish settlement, Palestine travel, israel, military, palestine, west bank, Tomb of the Patriarchs, Ibrahimi Mosque, war, warfare, battlefield, insurgents, arab, muslim, israeli defense force, documentary, interviews, world news, breaking news, happening now, documentaries, interview, world, exclusive, independent, underground, videos, journalism, hamas, murder, kidnapping, ceasefire

Id: Z42HhaywhGQ

Length: 12min 44sec (764 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 29 2023