Hebron is commonly known as a ghost town.
The presence of Israeli settlers is a heavy burden for Palestinian local residents who are being displaced from their own homes. In wide areas of the city, including the old city, many former Palestinian houses have been forcibly occupied by Israeli settlers displacing entire native families. The presence of Israeli soldiers in the city have transformed it in a heavy militarized area where settlers can act violently against the city’s native population with impunity.
In the old city, many apartments on the upper floors of the buildings have been occupied. While walking through what remains of the rich market in the old city it is impossible not to notice the nets that separate the street level from upper floors. Palestinians have installed them to protect themselves from settlers tossing garbage from their windows upon them. As it is impossible and dangerous to remove it, the garbage remains on the nets for years. Furthermore, there’s plenty of stores that are closed, barred, often with materials and goods still inside.
In this difficult-to-live-in environment, not fa from the old town, the last factory of Kufiyah continues to produce this symbol of Palestinian and Arab cultural heritage. Its decorations are reminiscent of fishing nets, a symbol of what Palestinian life was before the occupation forces denied them access to the sea, trade routes through Palestine, and olive leaves, a symbol of strength.
Along with the Kufiyah factory are many workshops for glassmaking, ceramics, terracotta. Hebron, in spite of everything, is still an important economic center, a symbol of Palestinian resistance and resilience to a violent colonization project that penetrates the city streets, the houses and impedes people’s freedom of movement by means of roadblocks and checkpoints.
