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About
Hebron
Hebron
or "Al-Khalil” in Arabic, is located 35 km far from
Jerusalem in the south of Palestine. It is the second oldest
city in Palestine after Jericho with about 140,000
inhabitants. It is 5,500 years of history behind it,
including the civilizations of Canaanites, Roman, and Islamic
Nation have their traces on this land.
The most important monument site in Hebron Old City is the
Abraham mosque (in Arabic ‘Al-Ibraheemi mosque’); the place
where Abraham along with his wife Sara and their sons and
wives were buried. Because of this Hebron is a holy city for
Islam, Judaism and Christianity. |
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Culturally, Hebron Old City is
one of the most important historical sites in Palestine. Its
current architectural fabric goes back to the Ayyubids, Mamluk,
and Ottoman periods. Most of Hebron Old City buildings were built
surrounding the Abraham mosque. They were built in the defensive
style, mainly because of its location in a valley as well as it’s
position as a center of communication between Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
and Syria. The massive
buildings together make the Old City looks like a fence. The
elements of Islamic architecture like Hammams, Sooks and Khans, as
well as houses with open courtyards and indirect entrances are
obvious in this city.
Since 1967 Hebron is occupied by
the state of Israel and under its control. During the years Jewish
people have settled near the city and in the heart of Hebron Old
City. This causes many problems and makes Hebron a special case in
the Palestinian Israeli conflict. On 25 February 1994, an Israeli
settler opened fire in the Abraham mosque during the Friday dawn
praying, killing 29 Muslim worshippers. Thereafter, the Abraham
Mosque was divided into two parts, one for Muslims and one for
Jews, with a significant proportion given to the Jew to the
detriment of Muslims. Hebron has been divided into two parts – HI
and H2 – according to Hebron Protocol signed between Palestinians
and Israelis in 1997. H1 area constitutes 80% of the city and is
under full Palestinian Authority. H2, the remaining 20% of the
city, continues to be under Israeli military control.
The Old City of Hebron, which is
located within
H2 area,
has been suffering from severe living conditions during the past
three years due to the continuous aggravation and arbitrary
measures taken by the Israeli occupation against 40,000
Palestinian citizens of Hebron Old City and H2 area. In addition,
parallel aggression is applied by a few hundred Israeli settlers
who have committed harassments of all kinds against Palestinians.
According to Hebron Protocol, the Israeli occupation military
forces must protect Palestinians and Israelis at the same level,
but unfortunately, the actions committed by the Jewish settlers
have always been supported by the Israeli forces serving in Hebron
City.
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