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New Video Reveals Truth About Hebron

MyIsrael group exposes truth about Israeli Jewish settlers and Palestinians in Hebron.

16.9.18, 13:02
"My Israel" chairwoman Sara Haetzni-Cohen tours Hebron in this viral video.
 
Let's talk about Hebron. But first, some facts:
 
Hebron is an ancient city located 40 kilometers south of Jerusalem in the Judean Hill's. The city has over 200,000 residents, mostly Arabs who live in an area of close to 30 square miles which some consider "occupied" and others the Biblical homeland.
 
Truth be told, the situation here is far from ideal. Empty marketplaces, roadblocks, closed off streets are part of daily life in Hebron. I grew up here as a child and I can remember a different and better reality. But finding solutions for Hebron requires first understanding the complex reality.
 
Some organizations are very "selective" with the information they choose to share. I'm here to give you the full picture. 
 
We are now on King David Street, a.k.a Shuhada Street. PART of this street is blocked to the Arab population and all stores are closed. Before we go into the reason for the closed stores, let's put things into proportion. Is the Arab population of Hebron trapped? Is its economy paralyzed because this street was closed? FAR from that. 
 
The over 200,000 Arabs living in Hebron run 17,000 businesses which gross 5 billion shekels per year and approximately 40% of the Palestinian Gross National Product. How free are they? Let's look at the map. Arab residents of Hebron can move freely throughout 97% of the city. They are also allowed to enter the remaining 3% after a security check. One exception is a tiny 1,000 feet stretch of one road. 
 
Now let's see what happens when I try to cross to the Arab side of the city. 
 
"I'd like to cross to the other side"
IDF patrol officer: "I'm sorry, you can't."
"Why, because I'm Israel?"
IDF patrol officer: "Yes"
 
Now that we've put things into proportion, one might ask: why does Israel limit Arab's access to even a tiny part of Hebron? The answer is simple.  Terror.
 
In the place were I stand now, a ten-month old baby girl Shalhevet Pass was murdered by a Palestinian sniper. In the bus stop right over here, a booby-trapped teddy bear was placed with the intention of murdering children waiting for pick-up after school. In this marketplace, which was once crowded and busy, there were hundreds of terror attacks against Jews by Arab terrorists who abused the proximity and daily friction between Jews and Arabs in order to carry out close range attacks. 
 
So eventually in 2001, the Army's conclusion which was also examined and approved by the Supreme Court was to create separation between the Jewish and Arab population. Most store owners whose stores were closed received financial compensation or reopened their stores in the new business district of Hebron. 
 
In short: Terror was the cause and this empty street is the consequence. 
 
Jews have lived in Hebron for thousands of years except for limited periods of time such as after the 1929 pogrom when 67 Jews were murdered and the community driven out. In other words, the Jewish presence in Hebron is natural and justified.
 
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