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The Israeli army established, on Sunday, 3 iron gates in the center of Hebron city, adding to the dozens of barriers and restrictions that hinder the lives of Palestinians in the heart of the old town of the city.
Badr Al-Daour, the head of the Old Town Committee in Hebron (civil), said that the Israeli army set up 3 iron gates around the area of Bab Al-Balad, the main entrance to the old town, adding to a fourth gate previously set up in the same area.
He explained to Anadolu that "the four gates were set up in an area not exceeding 200 square meters (at a road junction), in streets that represent tributaries to the old town and all of them flow into the vital entrance to the town from the western side."
According to Al-Daour, the establishment of the gates poses an additional obstacle for hundreds of families and traders who will not be able to use any vehicles to transport their needs and goods, indicating that the alternative is small carts or carrying by hand for residents and traders over a distance of about 800 meters, towards the Ibrahimi Mosque to the east.
The local activist considered that the acceleration of the occupation's measures "exceeded expectations" as part of a plan to facilitate the incursions of settlers into the area and create an environment that repels Palestinian residents and traders.
He pointed out that there are 14 patients with kidney failure and cancer in the old town who cannot move and need vehicles, and therefore they are among the first to be affected.
According to data from the Palestinian Committee for the Resistance of the Wall and Settlements (governmental), Hebron city tops the West Bank governorates in terms of the number of Israeli obstacles with 221 checkpoints and fixed closure points, out of 942 checkpoints and gates that cut off the West Bank.
According to previous data from the Youth Gathering Against Settlements (non-governmental), the Israeli army deploys in the alleys and streets of the old town alone more than 120 checkpoints and physical or manned obstacles by the army.
According to the Hebron Agreement signed in 1997 between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, the city was divided into two areas: "H1" under Palestinian control, and "H2" under Israeli control, the latter constituting about 20 percent of the city's area, including the old town and the Ibrahimi Mosque, and within which the neighborhoods subject to curfew are located.
According to Palestinian estimates, more than 800 settlers live in the settlement outposts scattered in the area under Israeli control.
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