RAMALLAH: On Sunday Israeli settlers vandalized a Palestinian community center in the West Bank city of Hebron, witnesses told Ma'an News Agency. The Challenge and Steadfastness Center, ran under the auspices of the Youth Against Settlements Organization, was vandalized by settlers who damaged trees and flowers in the lawn. The coordinator of Youth Against Settlements, Jawad Abu Eisha, was detained by the Israeli military when attempted to prevent the settlers from accessing the center. Hebron is the largest city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Some 165,000 Palestinians live there along with around 500 Jewish settlers in the middle of the city. The city is often the site of conflicts and clashes between settlers and soldiers, on the one hand, and Palestinians on the other. As part of a 1997 agreement, Hebron is divided into three areas: H1, H2, and H3, under Palestinian, joint, and Israeli control respectively. A history of confrontation with settlers In 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an American-born settler from the neighboring Kiryat Arba settlement, entered the Ibrahimi Mosque, home to the tomb of the Biblical figure Abraham, and attacked worshippers. Draped in Israeli military garb, he opened fire on Muslim worshippers during a prayer service, killing 29 and injuring at least 125 others. After running out of ammunition, Goldstein was beat to death by survivors. Goldstein's grave, situated on the outskirts of the Kiryat Arba settlement, became a pilgrimage destination for rightwing militants. Although Israel dismantled the shrine set up in the murderer's honor in 1999, a 2009 BBC article reported that some 10,000 people had visited the grave since the massacre. In 2001, during the height of the Second Palestinian Intifada, a sniper shot and killed an 11-month-old baby at the entrance of the Jewish settlement on Shuhada Street. Later that year, Mohammad Helmi Al-Tamezi was attacked by settlers while driving, who killed him and Diaa' Tamezi, child under one-year-old was shot and killed by settlers. In recent months, several violent incidents have been reported by Palestinian media, such as clashes between civilians and Israeli soldiers. Others have noted a sharp uptick in settler violence. Tensions have soared since the conclusion of the Israel-Gaza War in November and the UNGA decision to upgrade Palestine to an “observer state" shortly after. At least six Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank so far this year. BN
