Hebron, the second-largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, reveals the reality of life under Israeli military control. In its city center, where 900 Israeli settlers live among tens of thousands of Palestinians, over 1,000 soldiers enforce a system of apartheid. Movement restrictions, fortified checkpoints and unpredictable closures have long shaped daily life. Since October 2023, these measures have intensified, with curfews and heightened military presence stifling basic freedoms.
B'Tselem field researchers collected 25 testimonies from Palestinians who were abused by Israeli soldiers in the center of Hebron between May and August 2024. Their accounts indicate a rise in the scope, type and severity of violence that soldiers are currently employing against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Victims reported severe physical and psychological abuse, including blows delivered with firearms, batons or a chair, strangulation, verbal humiliation and, in some cases, sexual violence. Soldiers blindfolded and tied victims, forcing them to endure painful positions, extreme heat or cold and deprivation of food and water for hours. The abuse included unidentified putrid liquids poured on victims, cigarettes extinguished on their skin, and hitting a ball against their heads.
The victims were picked at random, while going about their daily affairs – walking to work, running errands or hanging out with friends. None of them were suspected of an offense, charged or had further action taken against them.
Some of the abuse was filmed by the soldiers, including on video calls with acquaintances, to further the humiliation and receive praise from their fellow soldiers and social circles.
Some victims recounted how the soldiers sought any feeble pretext to justify the abuse. A “suspicious” picture or signs of following updates on Gaza, found on a victim’s cellphone, were enough to justify their seizure and subjection to physical and mental abuse.
The abuse of innocent passersby in central Hebron is a result of the ongoing process of dehumanization of Palestinians, which has accelerated since October 7, 2023. Virtually any Palestinian is seen as guilty until proven otherwise, and all are being punished collectively for the actions of Hamas. This logic makes it permissible to harm them with no moral or other compunction.
Hebron exemplifies a broader pattern of violence and control across the West Bank. The violence inflicted by soldiers is a key part in maintaining Israel’s control over the lives of millions of Palestinians.
The full report >>
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