Hebron- Many Palestinian families maintain old habits on holidays, including starting collective tours to visit relatives and neighbors and congratulate them on the feast, then visit the farthest, the farthest of the wombs and relatives.
On Eid al -Adha, the sacrifices incite the slaughter of their sacrifices early, to distribute some of them to the wombs of mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts and aunts, but the political and security situation cast a shadow over the visits and a link of wombs as a religious barrier.
It has contributed to conversion West Bank To the duties and “ghettoes” – separated by Israeli barriers, settlement streets and settlements – in the compulsion of some to limit the areas nearby geographically and do not require traffic through military barriers, when visiting their wombs.
Hardness of the uterus
Abdullah Al -Sabbar in the twenties of life, his father died years ago and has the responsibility for the feast to visit his ten sisters, in addition to two aunts and 5 aunts, and a large number of daughters of the uncles and aunts.
The Palestinian youth, who is from the town of Dura (in the southern West Bank), explains that with his relatives he used to complete the task of visiting the wombs within a day or slightly, but after the occupation army escalated its aggression on the West Bank and the closure of all villages and cities in conjunction with the start of the aggression on Gaza on October 7, 2023, he was forced to shorten many visits.
He explained that a number of his sisters are married in neighboring villages that do not take more than an hour in the normal situation, but with the establishment of barriers and iron gates, reaching them needs double time and perhaps the loss of the full day of the holiday in a few visits.
Since many iron gates are installed on the entrances to villages, towns and cities to prevent the use of common streets with settlers, many are forced to corner their vehicles at one of the gates and cross the streets on foot towards the corresponding village gate, and the use of another vehicle to complete the tasks, but this option is not without the risk of being assaulted by the occupation army or settlers while passing the street or destroying the vehicle Stopping near him, according to aloe vera.
The citizen adds that one of his sisters is married in the city of Ramallah, which is about 100 km from his town, but her visit today takes at least 6 hours to travel due to the spread of barriers and alternative roads.
Al -Sabbar is one of the thousands of Palestinian families who suffer from repercussions and social implications for converting Palestinian villages and towns into homelands, and the pressure increases the difficult economic conditions that the West Bank is going through.
A wandering ban on the feast
The story of this young man reflects an easy aspect of the suffering of the Palestinians, as the movement between the towns is restricted, but within the one town is possible. As for the experience of the Palestinian, Aref Jaber from the heart of a city Hebron It is more harsh, as the feasts are completely absent, and 500 families are expected to undergo a curfew from the evening of the first day of Eid until the evening of its second days, as Saturday will come to the day of the weekly leave for the settlers.
Jaber tells Al -Jazeera Net that the occupation closed – after October 7, 2023 – several neighborhoods in the center of Hebron, and prevents their families communicating with the outside or communicating the outside with them except with severe restrictions.
He explains that life before the Israeli escalation was difficult, but the movement was possible, even at a minimum, but after October 2023 imposed a complete closure on the neighborhoods of Wadi Al -Husayn, Al -Salayima and Jaber, and was surrounded by inhabited Israeli barriers with iron and electronic gates.
Jaber adds that these barriers prevent the entry of any citizen from outside the closed areas.
He continues that this security situation cast a shadow over the social population relations, as women leave their homes on the feast to the homes of their relatives for greeting, and that the joy of children disappeared for the restrictions imposed on the movement inside the neighborhoods and the pursuit of the army.
He says that many families are satisfied with greeting by telephone or through social media platforms, which are tools that do not meet the purpose, especially on the feast, but they are possible in these circumstances.
The Palestinian citizen adds that the closing state not only casts a shadow on holidays, but also affected the ceremony of marriage and funerals.
900 barrier
Since October 2023, the restrictions imposed on the movement have increased, the number of military barriers and gates doubled, and many Palestinian gatherings were subjected to almost complete isolation.
According to the data of the “Wall Resistance and Settlement”, the occupation army The West Bank divides about 900 military barriers, gate or material obstacle.
According to a study, during a workshop organized by the Palestinian Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) during March – the transportation movement decreased by 51.7% after the start of the aggression on Gaza in October 2023. After the waiting time was recorded on 14 military checkpoints, it was found that the time ranges between 15 and 50 minutes.
The results also show that the average delay in trips is outside the governorate Nablus – Kit- up to 42 minutes, which represents an increase of 77.9% over the original time of the trip.
These developments have left a new reality on the social, economic and political levels, which resulted in deep repercussions on societal stability and civil peace.
The occupation measures in the West Bank receive shadow on domestic tourism, as it declined significantly due to the military measures on the one hand and the tightening of the settlers with their grip on the “C” region “C”, where it highlighted the tourist attractions on the other hand.
And it is resolved Eid al -Adha This year and about 50 thousand Palestinians (in the northern West Bank) are displaced from camps fetal TulkarmWith the continued military occupation army operations since January 21.