Creating a ghost town: Lives in limbo behind Israeli gates and checkpoints

Hebron, occupied West Bank – Badr al-Tamimi, 60, lives in Hebron’s Old City, where Israeli checkpoints, iron gates and road closures turn the simplest tasks into a dispiriting daily ordeal for Palestinian residents. The situation goes beyond mere restrictions on movement. Israel has created a ghost town in parts of Hebron, where residents feel they are being driven out. This is most pronounced in an area known as H2, where Israel has complete control and Palestinians are subject to the dictates of the military. A few days ago, Israeli authorities installed three iron gates across a 200-metre (656-foot) stretch of Hebron’s Old City – amounting to just 0.