Hebron is the largest city in the occupied territories of the West Bank of Palestine and capital of the governorate of the same name. Despite being located in Palestinian territory, the 600,000 Palestinian inhabitants of the governorate live a life totally controlled by the Israeli army that authorizes their trips, even within the Palestinian territory, allows them to go to their places of work or educational institutes and indicates to them what paths they should take, although sometimes it involves traveling much greater distances than necessary. On local routes there are numerous controls where Palestinians are often prevented from continuing and in all cases are treated as second-class citizens.
The city of Hebron
Hebron is a Palestinian city located in the West Bank, and one of the oldest permanently inhabited cities in the Middle East. Located 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem and nestled in the Judean Mountains, it is 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and the second largest in the State of Palestine, just behind Gaza.
The Governorate of Hebron is the largest in Palestine, with 1,060 km2 and a population of 600,000 inhabitants.
The municipality itself has an area of 74 km2 and a population of 216,000 inhabitants.
There are also about 850 Jewish settlers (200 of them, Yeshiva students) 345 concentrated in the old neighborhood.
The proximity to Hebron of the cities of ad-Dhahiriya, Dura and Yatta means that there are no municipal boundaries between them.
Hebron is an important West Bank trade center, responsible for approximately one third of the region's gross domestic product, largely due to the sale of marble from its quarries. Hebron also has an important renown locally for its grapes and figs, its limestone, its traditional glass and ceramic factories and for a leading dairy manufacturer, al-Junaidi. The old city of Hebron is characterized by its Mamluk architecture and its narrow, meandering alleys, its stone houses with flat roofs and its old bazaars. In the city are also the University of Hebron and the Polytechnic University of Palestine.
City besieged and strictly controlled
Most Palestinian cities and communities in the West Bank are surrounded by colonies, currently 200 with half a million Jewish inhabitants in them. Almost all the colonies were built illegally on land violating the Oslo agreements. In the case of Hebron, the Jewish colony is inserted in the urban area of the city. In this colony live 850 Jewish settlers, of whom about 345 are in the old quarter of the city as students of yeshiva (schools for the study of the Torah and the Talmud).
The city is divided into two sectors: H1, controlled by the Palestinian National Authority, which accounts for 80% of the municipal territory, and H2 (approximately 20% of the city), administered by Israel. To travel, even within the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, Palestinians must apply for permission.
All security agreements and travel permits for local (Palestinian) inhabitants are coordinated between the Palestinian National Authority and Israel through the military administration of the West Bank (COGAT). The Jewish settlers have their own system of government, the Jewish Community Committee of Hebron, and they can vote in the Israeli elections, something that their Palestinian neighbors can not do.
The sacred character of Hebron
The strong relationship of Hebron with the biblical figure of Abraham makes it venerated by Jews, Muslims and Christians. In the city is the Tomb of the Patriarchs, which is considered the burial place of patriarchs and biblical matriarchs. Hebron is the second most sacred city of Judaism, only after Jerusalem, while Islam considers it one of the four sacred cities along with Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina.
The future
The social situation of the city is hardly sustainable. Due to the submission to which the Palestinians of Hebron are forced, frequent episodes of violence are triggered as a reaction to the mistreatment and discrimination suffered by the Palestinians in it.
There is little information in the international media about the dramatic situation that the inhabitants of Hebron are experiencing and there is uncertainty about what the fate of the younger generations will be like.
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