The Israeli army sealed off the house in Hebron with barbed wire earlier this month, trapping about 20 members of the extended family. Idris said he did not know why. The Israeli army said he was not aware of the presence of barbed wire outside his home or others in the street.
Since Hamas's deadly attack on communities surrounding Gaza on October 7, Israel has intensified its military occupation of the West Bank – through arrests, raids and crippling restrictions on movement.
New orange gates are spreading on the roads, cutting off “all” entrances to Palestinian villages and towns, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. OCHA said that since October 7, a total of 45 gates have been added across the West Bank, bringing the total to 214 gates. Dirt mounds, concrete road barriers and designated checkpoints separate communities from main roads.
The impact of this was felt most acutely in the city of Hebron, which has a population of 250,000 and is the largest Palestinian city outside Gaza. With Israeli settlements clustered in and around the city's historic centre, it has long been one of the most militarized and heavily policed areas in the West Bank.
After October 7, the vise around Hebron was further tightened. All main roads leading to the part of the city inhabited by the vast majority of Palestinians were closed, except for one road, according to residents and the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem. The remaining path is equipped with a steel gate that can be closed at any time.
Many Israeli checkpoints that previously controlled movement in and around the Old City have been closed, dividing friends and families and keeping many residents confined to their neighborhoods. Some described barely leaving the house for months.
“It's a prison in a prison,” Idris said.
The Israeli army said that Hebron has “several entry and exit points that are open regularly at all hours of the day.” She added that at least one road has been left open for each of the surrounding villages, saying that considerations are being taken “to ensure that the daily life of the Palestinian population in the city is not harmed.”
Those who venture out fear bumping into Israeli forces. Idris said that soldiers arrested him earlier this month and prevented him from walking on the main street in front of his house. Residents said all Palestinians are prohibited from using the road on weekends, because it is the main route for Jewish worshipers traveling to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a holy site for both Muslims and Jews.
The Israeli army refused to answer questions related to Idris' arrest. She said traffic on the road outside Idris's home became “fragmented” after October 7. She added that these restrictions have now been lifted, but could be reimposed as needed for security reasons. Residents said the measures are still in place.
In the driveway of his house, Idris showed another place where the family cut down a tree to allow his mother, who cannot climb stairs, to pass through the fence. A second ladder runs over a back wall so others can leave the house through a nearby olive grove.
Family members said such roads are dangerous, and they fear being shot. But there is no other way out.
Hebron was divided into two parts more than 25 years ago under the Oslo Accords brokered by the United States. The Palestinian Authority has a mandate to administer the majority of the city, known as H1, while its historic core, or H2, inhabited by approximately 34,000 Palestinians and 850 Jewish settlers, is under the control of the Israeli military.
Even before October 7, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who lives in a settlement adjacent to Hebron, had drawn international condemnation for saying that the safety of settlers was more important than freedom of movement for Palestinians.
Following the attack, Palestinian residents in Area H2 said they were prevented from leaving their homes for two weeks, forced to survive on whatever they had inside, or to sneak out food.
Residents said checkpoints later opened three days a week, giving them a one-hour window to leave in the morning and an hour to return in the evening. They can leave any time now, but only three checkpoints out of 22 were open when The Washington Post visited last week.
The Israeli army denied imposing the curfew at all, and said that any restrictions were imposed “for security reasons only.”
“The gap between what they are saying and what is happening on the ground is incredible,” said Ronnie Bailey, a lawyer with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. “It's like gaslighting.”
Israel has significantly intensified its security campaign in the West Bank in recent months, targeting a new generation of Palestinian armed groups that have taken root in refugee camps. In Hebron, which closed its doors for the first time three decades ago after a Jewish settler shot dead 29 Palestinians inside a mosque, militants are much less visible than in cities such as Jenin and Nablus.
Activists have warned for years about “Hebron” in other parts of the West Bank. These concerns have become more apparent now, they said, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to expand security control throughout the region.
Issa Amr, the most prominent activist in Hebron, said that patrolling soldiers here are often joined by settlers who have long tortured their Palestinian neighbors. He was on his way home on October 7 when he said soldiers detained him for 10 hours, beat him, spit on him, and threatened him with sexual assault.
He said the plastic handcuffs were so tight that they cut off blood circulation, and he still loses feeling in his hands. The Israeli military said Amr's claims were “under review.”
Amr sees all of this as part of a larger effort to force the Palestinians out of the city. “They don't physically kick you out, but they make it impossible for you to stay,” he said.
Schools in Hebron were forced to teach online, stores were closed and residents said they could not go to work, even though there were few jobs available here. On the main street, children climbed the gate of another group of houses fenced with barbed wire. “Open the schools!” They shouted.
Umm Youssef, 45, said: “Our children are making us crazy.” We are very depressed. Life is impossible.”
Idris Makram's sister, 56, lives across the street but has not been able to visit him since the barbed wire was installed two weeks ago.
Her house is open to the street, but she never goes out. She is afraid to pass through checkpoints, as she says there are no female soldiers to conduct inspections. Visitors from outside the neighborhood are not allowed.
“Everything has changed,” she said.
As she spoke, a booming sound rang out. One of the nephews quickly interrupted him and said: “A sound bomb.” This was followed by intense gunfire. Hundreds of meters away, an Israeli patrol closed the street.
It was Area H1, which is nominally under the control of Palestinian police forces, but which the Israeli army regularly enters.
Louay Zidan (30 years old) said as he followed the commotion from a fast food restaurant: “They come down and provoke the children, and they wait for one of them to throw a stone, then they arrest two or three children and leave.” Shortly after, two Israeli soldiers appeared dragging 15-year-old Muhammad Rajabi into the street. A group of soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded him. A 13-year-old young man was arrested outside a nearby store.
“Let me tell you something: These people, Arab, are no good,” a soldier said in broken English as he tried to stop a Washington Post journalist from filming. Another said: “Hamas is a shill,” using the Arabic word for whore.
They closed the street while they searched for more suspected stone throwers, then took the teenagers to the nearest military checkpoint.
There, the distressed Ahlam Rajabi (41 years old) arrived to deliver her daughter’s birth certificate, while she prayed under her breath.
From the cell, one of the boys called to the bathroom. “Shut up,” came the voice over the loudspeaker. Loud groans followed from within.
Ahlam said as she started walking that her son was on his way to get his hair cut. A relative assured her that Mohammed would not be arrested if he had not been throwing stones. And they will know. He said: Everything in the city is written.
An estimated 1,400 people have been arrested across Hebron Governorate since October 7, more than anywhere else in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Association.
Hebron Mayor Tayseer Abu Sneineh said: “The Israelis feel a security crisis.” “But I say that you will only feel safe if others live in safety. When death and life are equal, this is an incentive for the people to resist.”
Abu Sneineh was convicted of participating in a 1980 shooting attack in Hebron that killed six Jews — including two Americans and a Canadian — as they returned from Saturday prayers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. He was later released in a prisoner exchange. He justified the attack on civilians by saying that it was a time for armed resistance.
He expected that tightening the occupation would lead to more violence, saying: “These actions that affect the Palestinian people, touch their blood, and hinder their lives are tools to encourage extremism.”
At the checkpoint, around 7 p.m., four hours after his arrest, Mohammed was released into the arms of his family.
“Did they hit you?” asked relatives. “A little,” he answered, his eyes filled with tears as he got into the car and headed home.
