Israeli settlers organized a provocative march on what they call “Lag BaOmer.” The march started from the settlement of “Kiryat Arba” and moved through streets and areas that are closed off and surrounded by settlements.
The march began in the areas of Wadi al-Ghrous, Jaber neighborhood, and Wadi al-Husain, and it is expected to continue until it reaches the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque and Shuhada Street in the center of Hebron.
It is well known that during such marches, settlers often assault Palestinian families living in these isolated areas surrounded by military checkpoints. They light large fires, chant anti-Arab slogans, and burn the flags of countries that support Palestine as well as those of international institutions.
Earlier today, the Human Rights Defenders Association issued a warning to Palestinian residents—especially families surrounded by settlements and closed-off areas—to exercise caution and vigilance against possible attacks by Israeli settlers on this day.
I interviewed a dozen shopkeepers whose businesses ranged from a single-cart produce stand near the city center to a family-owned (60 years) artisan woodcraft shop on the main street headed down to Old City. There was a general consensus that the strike was a good idea, but it wasn’t unanimous. What was unanimous was the sentiment of solidarity for the Gaza martyrs and those still suffering from unchecked barbarity and oppression by the occupation. Make no mistake: the term “Israeli Defense Forces” is an outright lie. It is “Israeli Occupation Forces.”
The army. What city or country has its own army wandering around, terrorizing and arresting common people? Israel, that’s who. Palestinians aren’t even deemed citizens in their own land, a land they have lived in for thousands of years. Hence the apartheid military laws and occupation and oppression they live under, powered by the most corrupt and insane country on the planet today, “The United States of America.” There’s another lie: the U.S. isn’t even close to being united. It’s the twenty-first-century iteration of the Roman Empire, with corruption and greed as the rule, and the citizenry being trampled by unfit government. It can’t fall soon enough. And when the U.S. falls, Israel will fall, which also can’t come soon enough.
Originally, this piece was meant to present the array of opinions of those shopkeepers and few customers who participated in the survey of a dozen or so questions with me. However, the story and plight of one shopkeeper in particular, whose story wasn’t all that different from most of the others, moved me so much that his is now the focus.
