Hebron is one of the largest Palestinian cities in the West Bank. DW's Tania Krämer asked human rights activist Issa Amro about what the recent push for a two-state solution means for the daily lives of Palestinians.

Jerusalem

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Middle East Conflict

Issa Amr, a Palestinian human rights activist living in Hebron, describes the daily challenges he faces due to Israeli military checkpoints and restrictions in the city. He highlights how life in Hebron is heavily restricted, with limited movement and reduced rights for Palestinians, especially in areas under Israeli control.

Amr welcomes the recent trend of more Western countries recognizing the state of Palestine, expressing hope that such recognition could lead to greater accountability and legal protection for Palestinians. However, he cautions that recognition alone is not enough, emphasizing the need for international intervention and enforcement of rights. The Israeli government has responded to these developments by reiterating its threat to annex the West Bank, while Amr points to ongoing settlement expansion and increased restrictions as evidence of a de facto annexation.

Hebron activist lauds growing support for Palestinian state

Issa Amr is a Palestinian human rights activist who lives in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. To get home every day, he has to cross Israeli military checkpoints within the city. Today, he's briefly detained. The army says we have filmed at the checkpoint, which is not allowed, according to them. Issa is allowed to go, but only after we delete a clip. Even without our presence, this is part of his daily life. I have to go to one checkpoint, two checkpoints and sometimes three checkpoints to reach my house and even to leave my house. This is the reality. Our life is so restricted. We are dehumanized. With more Western countries now saying they will recognize the state of Palestine, how would things change here, if at all? Recognizing Palestine as a state will prevent this soldier to do whatever he wants to me. And recognizing us as a human being and as a nation means the international community recognizing the Palestinian right for self-determination, for peace, for justice, for accountability. Because after recognition, we need accountability for the occupiers. Hebron is often described as the microcosm of the conflict and the Israeli occupation. It was divided in the 1990s into two areas. H2, where Israeli settlers live inside the city, is solely under Israeli military control and H1 under Palestinian civil control. Since October 7, however, all access to the city has been severely restricted by the Israeli military. Issa cannot freely move around his own city, like here on Shuhada Street, which is controlled by the Israeli army. You live in a ghost town, not in a normal life. Once the bustling city center, the Israeli military shut down its Palestinian-owned stores years ago. Settlers can drive here. Issa can only walk, but only up to a certain point. We are not moving, we are not crossing. So as you know, I'm not allowed to continue more. I have less rights than other people. I have less rights than you in my own city, in my own street, where I was born, where I was raised, where I used to play as a child here. He hopes that recognition will provide a legal framework for change, but says recognition alone isn't enough. After we get the recognition, we will ask them to intervene according to the international law mechanism to make peace here. So it's an obligation after they recognize us as a state here. And it's so important emotionally for us. We want to feel recognized, we want to feel that we exist, because here they say Palestinians never exist and never will. In response to recognition, the Israeli government has repeated its threat to annex the occupied West Bank. But Issa says a de facto annexation is already happening in the West Bank. He shows us a brand new settler outpost guarded by the Israeli army, right in a Palestinian neighborhood. The Israeli government is creating more and more facts in the ground. Because this new outpost, we have now tens of outposts and illegal settlements and military posts, military checkpoints, closure, settler violence. So the situation in the West Bank is really, you know, escalating towards violence. Without accountability, recognition may remain largely symbolic. However, for many people here, this is still a small but important step in the right direction.

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Hebron activist lauds growing support for Palestinian state

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