by ISM Hebron, 8th November
Palestinian youths demonstrated against the Israeli massacre in Gaza at the Israeli checkpoint on Shuhada street today. All shops in Hebron closed in mourning.
International Human Rights Workers (HRWs) arrived at 1pm to see Israeli soldiers firing live rounds at demonstrators who hid behind burning tires and threw stones. Two soldiers ran out from the checkpoint firing their guns. Ten minutes later five more soldiers ran out, followed by a further five riding in an armoured vehicle. They positioned themselves behind concrete road blocks, firing rapidly at the demonstrators.
The soldiers then closed the checkpoint for the next few hours.
At 1.12pm a milkman arrived on his donkey and approached the checkpoint but was sent back. Around the same time a Palestinian HRW managed to exit the checkpoint with a video camera but the international HRWs were refused exit by the soldier on duty. Two Israeli settlers tried to exit but were also sent back.
At 1.24pm soldiers fired rubber and live bullets at demonstrating youth. Soldiers then moved away from the checkpoint and toward the Old City. They moved up a side street near Beit Romano settlement to attack a group of youths at the end of the street. They were hiding around a corner behind a flaming tyre. Once again the soldiers shot at the youth, who threw stones at them.
At 1.36pm Israeli soldiers advanced along the side street. Suddenly several Palestinian children around 11 or 12 years old ran around the corner and threw rocks at the soldiers. One soldier was hit on the leg and fell to the ground.
More soldiers poured out through the checkpoint and five returned. At 1.30 the Palestinian with the donkey was allowed to unload his milk. International HRWs were again refused exit by the soldiers but Palestinians were allowed out.
By 1.37pm five Palestinians had been detained at the Shuhada street checkpoint along with the donkey. When asked by a HRW, the soldier on duty said there was still “ongoing trouble” and that he would let people through as soon as things calmed down. They were finally let through at 2.10pm. Only the exit side of the checkpoint was working at this point, though Palestinians were being allowed through it in both directions.
Inside the Old City market, four Armoured Personal Carriers (APCs) were driving around. At 1.48pm one of them pushed a fruit stall backwards along the street and spilled the oranges. By 2.30pm soldiers were patrolling the street randomly stopping Palestinian men and forcing them to lift their shirts.
At 2.40pm six Palestinian youths stoned an APC that was driving through the area carrying shooting soldiers. A soldier jumped out, shot at the youths, jumped back in and drove away. Five minuteS later more stones hit a stationary APC which eventually backed away.
At 3.05pm six Palestinian youths threw stones at an army jeep from behind two burning tyres. The jeep drove around the area shooting at the protesters.
Israeli soldiers were moving along the street kicking parked cars. They were very abusive to journalists, both Palestinian and international. They screamed at them and tried to damage a car that belonged to one of them.
A soldier pointed his gun at a seven year old girl from about 300 feet away. She ran into her home scared. When she came back he shouted “sharmuta” (Arabic for whore) at her. He gestured dismissively at a HRW who said to him, “You just called a child a whore?”
“Get a life,” he said.
“And your life is calling children whores?”.
Soldiers then shot tear gas at a group of women and children, including six HRWs. The soldiers laughed at the painful effects it had on them. They spent the next three hours driving up and down the street, laughing and joking. They shot tear gas directly at children, hitting one ten year old boy in the leg. He had been riding past on his bike at the time, clearly not carrying any rocks.
Overall, they shot off more than 50 canisters of tear gas, at least 50 rubber bullets as well as a number of live rounds.
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