103: Closing down Hebron
Business isn't great
A shopkeeper a few hours before the shops at Bab al Baladya are set to be closed.
Hold off
International officials try to negotiate with the army to delay the evictions by a week so the shopkeepers can make the necessary preparations.
Get it off, quick
When the army closes down shops, they weld shut the metal doors. Shopkeepers and volunteers try to take these doors out in a desperate attempt to prevent this.
You can't shut doors that aren't there
Shopkeepers and volunteers remove shop doors out in a desperate attempt to prevent soldiers welding them shut.
Closed for business
Soldiers weld shut the metal doors of the shops, making sure they will not open again.
You're nicked
Internationals and Palestinians tried to prevent the army from closing down the shops by sitting in front of them. As soon as the military arrived, they are arrested several of them.
Give him water
Shopkeeper Azzam Abukhalaf, who was hitten and kicked on the head by a soldier, say witnesses. An Ecumenical Accompanier helped revive him.
Too little, too late
Shopkeeper Azzam Abukhalaf, who was hitten and kicked on the head by a soldier, is unconscious and given first aid by an army medic.
Resuscitation
Shopkeeper Azzam Abukhalaf, who was hitten and kicked on the head by a soldier, is unconscious and given first aid by an army medic.
Filming you filming me filming you...
The Israeli police and army regularly film and photograph even peaceful demonstrations. Some people film back.
Photographs by Jeppe, Ecumenical Accompanier in Hebron
Hebron, 10 August. Three Palestinian shopkeepers had a visit from an Israel army official who told them they would be evicted from their shops in 1 hour.
The shops are in Bab Al Baladya, the heart of the old city of Hebron, where the Israeli army has a heavy presence to protect illegal Israeli settlements in the area. The army has gradually closed many of the shops in the area and installed checkpoints that completely killed Palestinian commerce in nearby Shuhada Street. Recently, locals and internationals have organized demonstrations for the re-opening of Shuhada Street. In response, the army announced it would close yet more shops.
A shopkeeper, Azzam, told us the army had visited two weeks ago to inform him that if Saturday demonstrations in support of the shopkeepers of Shuhada Street continued, they would close the shops. He said the issue wasn't in his hands. The organisers of the demonstrations refused to give up their struggle to re-open Shuhada Street. Today, the army arrived to close down the shops.
In a desperate last attempt to save the shops, shopkeepers and volunteers tried to take out the metal doors so they could not be welded closed. At the same time, the crowd in the square grew, in spite of the presence of snipers on nearby rooftops. Some protestors staged a sit-in to prevent the army reaching the shops. They were arrested.
Azzam was hit on the head by a soldier. Unconscious, he was carried away by a Palestinian and an Ecumenical Accompanier. An army medic rushed over to give him first aid, before a Palestinian ambulance arrives. The presence of cameras may or may not have influenced this action. Azzam suffered a concussion but was released from the hospital the same night.
As the soldiers start welding shut the doors, a Palestinian started chanting protest songs. He was arrested. At around 7.30 PM the shop doors were welded shut and the soldiers retreated. Then, a sound grenade exploded - a completely unnecessary provocation.
Today three families saw their livelihood being destroyed. Tomorrow Ramadan starts.
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