Hebron is a Palestinian city located in the south of the West Bank, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it is 930 metres away and is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world. Hebron (Al-Khalil in Arabic) is home to some 120,000 Palestinians and 600 to 800 Israeli settlers. It is an ancient city with archaeological findings that date back about 5,000 years and has been an important focus of religious worship for more than two millennia.
It is holy to both Muslims and Jews because of its association with Abraham, and is mentioned in the Bible as the home of Abraham and the burial place of him and several generations of his family. Today, with about 250,000 people, Hebron is the largest Palestinian city and the commercial capital of the West Bank. It's a shock of dilapidated trade, as its population generates about 30 percent of the West Bank economy. Just an hour's drive from Jerusalem, it's a rewarding place to visit. It is famous for its grape workshops, limestone, ceramics and blown glass factories.
The old city of Hebron is characterized by its narrow and winding streets, stone houses with flat roofs and ancient bazaars. It is home to the University of Hebron and the Polytechnic University of Palestine. The internationally funded Hebron Rehabilitation Committee has been working to repopulate the Old City for the past two decades, and is doing a great job renovating some 1,000 homes, 120 stores and 10 schools so far. This redeployment was initially agreed in the Interim Agreement (Oslo II) of September 1995. Hebron is an incredible place to buy souvenirs from the Holy Land. Its old town, with stone roofs, arches and endless alleys, is the perfect playground to enjoy the sensory delights of markets and bazaars.
It is also a city in the process of modernization, home to the University of Hebron and the Polytechnic University of Palestine. The area is also famous for its grape, fig, limestone, pottery and blown glass factories, as well as for the major dairy manufacturer, al-Junaidi. Another excellent activity in Hebron is a visit to the glass and ceramics factory in the Ras al Jora neighborhood. Some defend the continuation of the settlement of Hebron as a way to maintain the Jewish heritage in the city, while others suggest that settlers should try to live in peace with the Arabs in that city, and some even recommend the total withdrawal of all settlers from Hebron. Hebron looks like an entirely Arab city, except for a small community of a few hundred determined Zionist Jews who live mostly in the highlands of the city center. If you want to access the main metropolitan area of Hebron, you can take a taxi from the bus stations in Ramallah or Bethlehem. During this period, a small Jewish community continued to live in Hebron; however, the climate was less tolerant of Jews and Christians than under previous Islamic rule. The founder of Jerusalem Peacemakers leads what he calls a “dual narrative tour” through Hebron. The report found that Israel routinely violates international law in Hebron and that it seriously and regularly violates the rights to non-discrimination set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because of the lack of freedom of Circulation for Palestinian residents of Hebron.
Other findings include a four-chambered house, jars with ancient Hebrew inscriptions with the words “to the king of Hebron” and a section of the city wall. In Hebron there is a public guesthouse open continuously, with a cook, a baker and servants who attend regularly. During this period He agreed that months-long curfew was oppressive in short term but said restrictions calmed waters of Hebron.
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