Hebron’s Old City Transformed Into a ‘Ghost Town’ by Gates and Checkpoints

HEBRON, West Bank — A recent installation of three iron gates across a 200-meter stretch of Hebron’s Old City has further entrenched a system of movement restrictions that residents describe as turning their neighborhood into a ghost town. The gates, part of a broader web of barriers across the occupied territories, have intensified the daily hardships faced by Palestinians living under strict Israeli military control in the H2 sector.

The new obstacles block key thoroughfares, including al-Zahid Road, the only vehicle access to the Old City entrance, and sections of al-Shalala Street used by pedestrians to reach central markets. According to Mayor Yousef al-Jabari, these installations are designed to limit freedom of movement for approximately 7,000 Palestinians residing in an area where hundreds of Israeli settlers also live.

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, access to this zone has been restricted to Palestinians with specific identification numbers. Checkpoints in the area typically operate only between 7 am and 8 pm, and residents report being detained for hours depending on the mood of the soldiers on duty. During Jewish holidays and military incursions, movement often comes to a complete halt.

“Our presence in the Old City is a matter of steadfastness, not the availability of the elements needed for economic life,” said Badr al-Tamimi, a 60-year-old resident and shop owner near the Ibrahimi Mosque. He noted that repeated closures have paralyzed commerce, making it increasingly difficult for businesses to survive.

The situation in Hebron is disproportionately severe compared to other parts of the West Bank. Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicates that the H2 area contains roughly 40 percent of the region’s 89 checkpoints and 11 percent of its 925 movement obstacles. Since October 2023, the number of checkpoints in Hebron alone has risen to 32, with over 130 additional obstacles impeding travel.

Issa Amro, coordinator of the Youth Against Settlements group, described the current environment as one where residents are effectively held hostage. “The movement restrictions are essentially imprisoning people in their own homes,” Amro said. Mayor al-Jabari estimated that up to 10,000 Palestinians in the Old City and surrounding closed zones are affected by these measures.

The roots of this segregation date back to 1994, when a settler massacre at the Ibrahimi Mosque killed 29 Palestinian worshippers. The incident led to a fundamental restructuring of the city’s geography, isolating the Old City from its surroundings. A 1997 agreement, the Hebron Protocol, divided the city into H1, under partial Palestinian authority, and H2, which remains under full Israeli security control and includes illegal settlements.

Restrictions intensified during the second Intifada starting in 2000, leading to widespread closures and the shutdown of numerous shops. Today, Israel cites security concerns as the justification for the gates and checkpoints, yet no such restrictions apply to settlers. In fact, authorities have facilitated settler expansion in the area.

For educators like Ayat al-Jabari, a 40-year-old science teacher, the barriers impose a grueling daily routine. After moving from a school near the closed Shuhada Street to Al-Fayha School near the mosque, she found little relief. To avoid checkpoints and harassment, she often walks through a nearby cemetery in the dark during winter months, a journey that can take an hour instead of the expected five minutes.

“Even those with special identification cards are sometimes forced to take this path to escape the unpredictability of the soldiers,” she said. She added that during Jewish holidays, schools are frequently forced to close because students cannot leave their homes due to total lockdowns.

Mayor al-Jabari suggested that the current government’s tightening of controls may be a political maneuver to appease settlers ahead of upcoming elections, noting that settlers hold key positions in the Israeli government. He described the seizure of buildings, the installation of gates, and the closure of over 500 shops as part of a decades-long policy to cement settler presence and stifle Palestinian life.

In response, the Hebron municipality has filed lawsuits in Israeli courts, although the mayor expressed skepticism about the judiciary’s impartiality. As the restrictions persist, residents face deteriorating conditions for work, education, and daily existence in what they describe as a city deliberately being emptied of its Palestinian population.