On 28 December 2007, two armed, off-duty Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen killed each other. (See 30 December 2007 CPTnet release, "Israeli army, in search of injured gunmen, lays siege to Hebron hospital.") The Israelis were from the settlement of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron, the Palestinians from Hebron. Both communities have their narratives of why their young men are dead. Their narratives are similar, although I doubt either would agree with me, such is their enmity towards each other.

The most interesting spot in the Citadel is the Kurdish Textile Museum, a project of Lolan Mustefa. It is located in a three-story building that he renovated. The walls and floors are covered with intricately designed hand-woven woolen rugs, baby carriers, saddlebags, blankets, and sleeping pads. Scattered elsewhere are displays of mittens, hats, ropes, socks, and reed mats that serve as walls of tents. On the rooftop is a goat hair tent that sheds rain when the fibers swell to close the tiny openings. Then inside the museum is another room of felt products, with designs containing symbols, some of which indicate tribal connections and others that have meanings lost to history.