Brandishing machine-guns, Israeli settlers are invading Hebron, locking Palestinians out of their homes and city amid riots of retaliation.
When the Sharawi family left their house in September they only intended to be away for a few weeks. They planned to stay in a village near their farmland for the harvest season before returning to their home in Hebron in October. Now they are homeless. Last week their house, as well as their neighbour's, was taken over by Israeli settlers. The locks have been changed, the doors bolted, and a refurbishment job is under way.
It's a common occurrence in Hebron, a city in the southern West Bank, where 400 armed, extremist settlers have moved into the centre of town, establishing five tiny settlement blocks amid the 100,000 Palestinians residents with the aim of taking over the city. The Sharawi family, along with the other 30,000 Palestinians living in the old part of town - the 900-year-old Kasbah where the settlements are located - are the worst off.
In late July, two houses belonging to the Sharabati family, which adjoin the Avraham Avinu settlement, were targeted. One 21-room house belonging to Izzedine Sharabati, which doubled as a museum of Palestinian art and folklore, was completely vandalised by settlers within three days. Every single object and piece of furniture - including a library containing 1000-year-old books - was destroyed . The settlers went so far as to rip every limb off the children's dolls.
When the Sharawi family left their house in September they only intended to be away for a few weeks. They planned to stay in a village near their farmland for the harvest season before returning to their home in Hebron in October. Now they are homeless. Last week their house, as well as their neighbour's, was taken over by Israeli settlers. The locks have been changed, the doors bolted, and a refurbishment job is under way.
It's a common occurrence in Hebron, a city in the southern West Bank, where 400 armed, extremist settlers have moved into the centre of town, establishing five tiny settlement blocks amid the 100,000 Palestinians residents with the aim of taking over the city. The Sharawi family, along with the other 30,000 Palestinians living in the old part of town - the 900-year-old Kasbah where the settlements are located - are the worst off.
In late July, two houses belonging to the Sharabati family, which adjoin the Avraham Avinu settlement, were targeted. One 21-room house belonging to Izzedine Sharabati, which doubled as a museum of Palestinian art and folklore, was completely vandalised by settlers within three days. Every single object and piece of furniture - including a library containing 1000-year-old books - was destroyed . The settlers went so far as to rip every limb off the children's dolls.