RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
23 April 2011
On 20 and 21 April 2011, during the Jewish Passover holiday, the Israeli military closed all of the gates on the east side of the Old City souq in Al Khalil/Hebron. This severely restricted the movement of Palestinian residents in that area. One of those affected was Yusuf.
Yusuf is five years old. He attends the kindergarten just across the landing from the CPT women’s apartment. He’s a bright little boy, who interprets in sign language for his mother, who is deaf. He has congenital physical difficulties: he has no left arm and one leg is significantly shorter than the other.
On 20 April two CPTers happened to meet up with Yusuf and his kindergarten teacher as she took him home after class. The teacher took him first to one gate. It was locked. A soldier refused to open it and directed her to another locked gate. She walked there with Yusuf, and knocked at the gate. A soldier at that gate also refused to let them come through.
Yusuf’s teacher then went with him to the home of a Palestinian woman whose house has doors both into the souq and onto Shuhada Street. She kindly allows children and teachers to pass through her house when the military lock the gates. Through that circuitous route the teacher was finally able to take Yusuf to his home.
To see video of Yusuf’s journey home click here,
