CPTnet
10 October 2006

HEBRON REFLECTION: Life under military occupation in Hebron and Iraq

by Jan Benvie

"It's life Jim, but not as we know it!" I remember these words from a Star
Trek song many years ago. Life here in Hebron, indeed throughout the
occupied Palestinian territories, certainly is not as I know it.

I watch the Palestinians trying to go about their every day lives-shopping,
going to school, going to prayer, or visiting family-everyday activities
made difficult, sometimes impossible, because of the Occupation. Here in
Hebron checkpoints, barriers, and gates are everywhere. At busy times you
can get held up simply because large numbers of people are trying to get
through the turnstile gates, or because the Israeli soldiers have blocked
the road, leaving only a narrow space for people to pass through one by one.
If you are a young man, the soldiers may stop you while they "check" your ID
on their interminably slow computers -although how slow the computers really
are is open to question. A few days ago, a young boy accidentally jammed
one of the turnstile gates trying to go through with his bicycle. The
adults behind him, prevented from passing through, became agitated.
Thankfully, in this instance, the soldiers remained calm until the bicycle
was eventually extricated. At other times, a crowd of angry men can seem a
threat to nervous, trigger-happy young soldiers.

A few days ago, I watched an Israeli soldier, unsuccessfully, trying to be
friendly with a very young Palestinian boy. When he was not chatting with
the boy, he was stopping adults, perhaps this young boy's father, sister,
uncle, or grandfather, from passing through the barriers at the checkpoint.
The situation reminded me of the "hearts and minds" policy of the U.S.-led
coalition in Iraq that has been equally unsuccessful.

The military occupation here in Palestine is in some ways different from the
occupation in Iraq, but having experienced both, I notice similarities. In
Iraq too there are checkpoints everywhere, making travel difficult. Going
shopping, to school, to prayer or visiting family is difficult, sometimes
impossible because of the level of violence. The age-old policy of "divide
and rule"- a trademark of occupiers, can be seen in both countries. It has
had devastating consequences in Iraq. I am deeply concerned, here in
Palestine, about the effect of the international community's boycott of the
democratically elected Hamas government, and their f