As Palestinians in Hebron navigate life without the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) observers, it is worth looking back on how oppressive and violent life was even with outsiders watching. Eric Garner would find the city eerily familiar.
Each week, settler-organized tour groups walk through the old city of Hebron, accompanied by a large number of fully armed Israeli military soldiers who clear the path for the settlers and tourists and stop all movement in the old city. This is standard procedure as all Israeli citizens have the right to protection by the Israeli military.
By Kathryn Shihadah: Hebron is an ancient city in the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territories with a population of about 220,000 Palestinians and less than 1,000 Jewish settlers.
About 1,000 Israeli soldiers are charged with “keeping the peace,” a job at which they have consistently failed – or so one would suppose, given that for 22 years the city has been obliged to host the TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron).