Hebron under lockdown as Israeli demolitions and attacks escalate

Hebron's Farsh al-Hawa area is unrecognizable after extensive Israeli demolitions. An ominous scene for what might await the rest of Hebron, where nearly half a million Palestinians are now under Israeli lockdown and attack. I'm going to Motala Hospital in Jerusalem for my daughter's treatment, and I'm waiting for the bus to arrive. In the morning, the Israeli soldiers turned the buses back, and I don't know what will happen now. More than 200 families were forced to leave their homes in the dead of night, not knowing when they could return. Around 12.30 at night, the Israeli army vehicles were at Jalal al-Square and at the house at Mukhtar al-Jazi Jawar. They told us to leave our homes. We asked until when and they said until further notice. Israeli soldiers have moved into some of the homes they occupied by force, turning them into military outposts. We left with the clothes on our backs, all our papers and belongings. We left them behind in our home. The Hebron municipality has set up temporary shelters, but no one knows how long this ordeal will last. The Palestinian Ministry of Education has issued a special advisory to schools in Hebron. Keep children at home for the coming two days. The movement of Palestinians has been severely restricted across the occupied West Bank. Hundreds of Israeli military checkpoints like this one in Birzeit separate Palestinian communities from one another. They can be open one minute and then closed without a warning. In such an unpredictable setting, many Palestinians are choosing to stay away from the road if they can. On average, Palestinians lose up to 77 hours every year at Israeli military checkpoints inside the occupied West Bank, restrictions that choke the economy and basic services. With escalating Israeli settler and military attacks, the hours of helpless frustration are likely to increase. Noor Adel Jazeera, the Occupied West Bank, Palestine.