Hebron - shortage during corona days

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Place: 
Observers: 
Michal (reporting and photographing); Translator: Natanya
May-26-2020
|
Morning

After about 3 months I returned to Hebron. There is little traffic, also not that of the army. But there is a police presence at the entrance to villages.

Today is the last day of the holiday. The city is very quiet and many shops are closed. People and children wearing holiday clothes are in  the streets. The army also keeps a low profile here

I went to visit Idris and Fathiya Zeda who live close to the famous spring and about which we often have reported. On the stairs a smiling neighbor asks me who I am  and my identity. The woman is  from Jerusalem originally and has lived for 40 years in Hebron. She says it is  quiet now but on  Jewish holidays they suffer from  the settlers' behavior here when they are on their way to the sacred spring. They riot and destroy the carpets which have been put out to air.

I explained the holiday of Pentecost. At the end of a conversation we exchanged details. She was glad that her family members would be able to send me relevant pictures of events. Idris tells about the very difficult time they are going through because of the Corona and no work and no food.

I asked if they received  assistance from the Palestinian Authority and what sort of help.

I will say before  that although  this difficult time has intensified the internal difficulties. I will not go into the details, nor say names. I will write generally.

The divide and rule policies of the occupation have apparently been very successful. And this, along with the inherent conflict of corruption in such a society which is based on family divisions, has come to light in recent months. According to him, there are those who receive because they are representatives of the neighborhood both plentiful goods and money from the PA and,  instead of sharing it for everyone, they left everything in their own homes and gave only to their family and relatives. And others  received nothing.

It is known that  Idris  saved Jews. This has happened 6 times in all sorts of situations, some of which have been reported here. He continues to be peace-loving but there are other voices of liars who intentionally try to stir up  the atmosphere even without justification. They receive a lot of money and commodities from the PA as the leaders of the region and everything is ingrained in them. He tells about the large amount of money these people received from any organization to renovate and repair the neighborhood for the benefit of its residents. That money has also disappeared, he says.

"So who helped you and your family?" I ask.

We got help  from the Red Cross and distributed to others,  he says

Our friend,  Issa, also distributed groceries and toys to the children. There are some honest and decent people and Issa is such a leader

The others are not so to say the least. Soldiers wanted to bring him food but he refused and took only bread. Also tells that the person who helped him in the end with his phone was an elderly Jew from Kiryat Arba whom once he helped when he stumbled and fell in the street. This is the only Jew who arranged a card for him to phone though all the stores were closed. No one else came to his aid.

Some people offered to give him money and donations to the residents and he referred them to those who said they were corrupt because he fears reactions.

Life is very difficult there for all the reasons hinted at here.

Not everything is the fault of the occupation, but it is clear that the difficult situation which  the occupation creates, brings out in  people who become much crueler  and  more violent towards one another.