Settler violence and severe restrictions on movement are affecting the daily lives of Palestinians in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, especially in the old town of Hebron. Matteo Benatti has been head of the ICRC's office in Hebron since September 2007. He explains the situation.
Hundreds of Palestinian families have to pass checkpoints in order to buy food, for instance. They often face intimidation by settlers at the checkpoints. Women are particularly vulnerable to this form of abuse... Because of closed roads, old people are forced to lug shopping bags over extended distances.
Ambulances taking Palestinian residents to hospital in emergencies can face long delays at checkpoints. Families have been forced to carry their sick relatives on stretchers or use donkeys to transport them to a pickup point where an ambulance is waiting.
The economic life of the old city has almost died out because of movement restrictions and settler violence...Poverty is rampant. According to an ICRC study of households in the restricted areas of the old city last summer, 86 percent of families live in relative poverty, as they have only $ 97 per person per month for food, clothes and all other living expenses.
Most Palestinians living in the old city have had to put wire in front of their windows and have to keep them shut as they risk having urine, rotten vegetables or stones thrown at them through the windows. For children, even the daily walk to school can be frightening, as settlers may threaten them or throw stones...
We regularly receive calls from Palestinian families in the middle of the night who are being attacked by settlers or are desperately waiting for an ambulance stuck at a checkpoint... Full story
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