Snow ends Apartheid on Hebron's segregated Shuhada St.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

This is segregated Shuhada Street, at the center of occupied Hebron. Hebron is the West Bank's largest city, home to 170,000 Palestinians, and Shuhada Street was once its bustling downtown business district.

On what have become "ordinary" days, Shuhada street looks like this:

Why is it segregated ? Because about 500 illegal Israeli settlers have forcibly taken over buildings in the downtown area, as well as some other properties adjacent to Hebron. Several thousand Israeli soldiers are stationed in Hebron to protect them. After one of the settlers from a nearby illegal settlement, Baruch Goldstein, mass-murdered 29 Palestinians at the local Ibrahimi Mosque in 1994, the Israeli army responded by sealing off Shuhada Street, closing it to Palestinian vehicles and blocking most Palestinians from using it. Of course, illegal Jewish settlers and other Israelis are permitted to pass freely.

Most of the Palestinians whose families lived here for generations have now left their homes. All of the shops have been forced out of business. After 2 decades of these conditions, only a few Palestinian families remain. They must use the small pedestrian lane you see on the left of the pic, or climb over roofs. Jews may walk or drive in the street freely and use the other sidewalk.

Then came this week's heavy snowstorm. Shuhada Street was blanketed in about 3 feet, and it was packed and frozen hard enough to walk on:

And so, at least for a day or two, Apartheid ended on Shuhada Street, and everyone was forced to walk together in the same path, in the middle.

Hat tip to 972 mag for the pics and the original report:

http://972mag.com/photo-snow-makes-everyone-equal-for-a-day-on-hebrons-shuhada-st/83673/

Edited December 15, 2013 by Falastin_Qalbi

[luckytxn 2,264]

I am guessing they didn't want to walk together.

This is segregated Shuhada Street, at the center of occupied Hebron. Hebron is the West Bank's largest city, home to 170,000 Palestinians, and Shuhada Street was once its bustling downtown business district.

On what have become "ordinary" days, Shuhada street looks like this:

Why is it segregated ? Because about 500 illegal Israeli settlers have forcibly taken over buildings in the downtown area, as well as some other properties adjacent to Hebron. Several thousand Israeli soldiers are stationed in Hebron to protect them. After one of the settlers from a nearby illegal settlement, Baruch Goldstein, mass-murdered 29 Palestinians at the local Ibrahimi Mosque in 1994, the Israeli army responded by sealing off Shuhada Street, closing it to Palestinian vehicles and blocking most Palestinians from using it. Of course, illegal Jewish settlers and other Israelis are permitted to pass freely.

Most of the Palestinians whose families lived here for generations have now left their homes. All of the shops have been forced out of business. After 2 decades of these conditions, only a few Palestinian families remain. They must use the small pedestrian lane you see on the left of the pic, or climb over roofs. Jews may walk or drive in the street freely and use the other sidewalk.

Then came this week's heavy snowstorm. Shuhada Street was blanketed in about 3 feet, and it was packed and frozen hard enough to walk on:

And so, at least for a day or two, Apartheid ended on Shuhada Street, and everyone was forced to walk together in the same path, in the middle.

Hat tip to 972 mag for the pics and the original report:

http://972mag.com/photo-snow-makes-everyone-equal-for-a-day-on-hebrons-shuhada-st/83673/