The Palestinian Popular Committees in Hebron called for a nonviolent rally at 10:00 am Monday. The demonstration is in protest of the continued closure of Shuhada Street. For years Israeli forces occupying the southern West Bank city have kept this vital part of the Old City's central market closed.
This translates into Palestinians being forced to climb on rooftops, or from window to window through neighbors' houses in order to reach their homes.
Hebron is the largest city in the West Bank, but is under unfaltering duress due to the presence of a relatively small group of settlers and an enormous military contingent that works among them. These settlers are considered some of the most violent in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and attacks on homes, the elderly, children and animals are well-documented.
The ongoing closure of Shuhada Street was exacerbated yesterday when Israeli forces again forbade Ibrahimi Mosque from sounding the call to prayer in the evening and night. Many of the Old City's streets, and those leading to it, have been closed since the massacre in Ibrahimi Mosque.
Shop owners have been unable to work on Shuhada Street since it was closed. Merchants will be among those participating in tomorrow's demonstration against what is described by organizers as “the continuing onslaught against our people at all levels.”
Demonstrations against the ongoing closure to citizens and vehicular traffic will be held on a routine basis until the main street reopens.
