Palestinians who live in the Gheith and a-Salameih neighborhoods, as well as in other neighborhoods in Hebron, are subjected to extreme restrictions on their freedom of movement, as B’Tselem has documented many times. The military built a fence along the main street of these neighborhoods to keep residents out and leave the street open to settlers only.

Although the military promised it would keep the gate in the fence open from 6:00 A.M. to 22:00 P.M., it has failed to do so and the gate often remains locked throughout the day.

To get out of the area when the gate is closed, residents have to take a roundabout route that is 500 meters long and includes many flights of steps. When neighborhood children find the gate locked on their way to school or back home, they often scale the fence rather than take the long route.

Israel has been implementing a segregation policy in Hebron for more than twenty years, largely by installing permanent checkpoints throughout the center of the Old City and around al-Haram al-Ibrahimi (the Tomb of the Patriarchs) – an area less than 80 hectares wide. These checkpoints make daily life a nightmare for Palestinian residents there and in other parts of Hebron.

This unceasing harassment and restriction of movement prevents Palestinian residents of Area H2 from leading a reasonable routine and makes daily reality intolerable. By implementing this policy, the Israeli authorities are promoting the ongoing transfer of Palestinians from the center of Hebron.