Breaking the Silence was finally allowed to enter Hebron today. Nevermind that they had to bring along about fifty borderpolicemen to guard them. I wonder how much the participants actually got to see of the city over the broad shoulders of the protective human wall. But at least they witnessed the true colours of the settlers, who, infuriated by the 'deceit' of the Israeli state, resorted to aggressive behaviour.
The borderpolice stood their ground. Settlers were pushed away and even to the ground. I believe Mohannad and John-Jamal were extremely pleased to see a particular settler, an 'aquaintance' of ours, bite the dust.
Unable to reach the tour group participants, the settlers turned their attention to other non-jewish bystanders. i.e. us. Having lived and worked in Hebron for almost three months, the settlers know our faces well, and ahem, let's just say that they don't harbour any warm, mushy feelings towards us. So, upon spotting my male colleagues, some of them came over and made threatening remarks, rattled their M16s and displayed a rather hostile body-language. As good EAs, the boys knew their limits and pulled back.
Now, I wonder though, if all of this is just for show. Drawing on today's episode, the police will be able to claim that the presence of Breaking the Silence is a disturbance to civil order. It is very convenient. Then they can deny them access for good.
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