Hebron wedding postponed as Israeli lockdown displaces thousands
An Israeli military lockdown in Hebron forced a groom and his family to abandon their home, delaying the couple's wedding indefinitely and displacing over 3,000 residents.
A planned wedding in Hebron's al-Jalada neighbourhood has been postponed after an Israeli military lockdown forced the groom, 27-year-old Haidar Yahya Tamimi, and his family to leave their home. Tamimi, a radiology technician at the Palestine Red Crescent Society Hospital, had been preparing for a ceremony scheduled for Friday, but the lockdown, imposed after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers on Oct. 23, required residents of al-Jalada and nearby Ein Deir Baha to evacuate.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the lockdown and demolition of buildings near the attack site, with bulldozers and soldiers conducting house-to-house searches. Hebron’s municipality reported that more than 3,100 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced.
Tamimi said he could only view his house from a distance as soldiers surrounded it, and he does not know when he will be able to return. "I looked at the house and saw that my dream was supposed to happen here, but it has been postponed indefinitely," he said.
The lockdown has also disrupted local businesses. Travel agency Rukn al-Asala, which had been arranging an Umrah pilgrimage for 15 people, cannot access its office or the passports of travelers. Seven passports intended for a trade mission to China remain locked inside, leaving the traders unable to travel.
Residents await an end to the restrictions before they can resume daily life and reschedule postponed events.