An Arab man from the Hebron area was killed when Hamas targeted an apartment building in Israel’s south.
The Tzeva Adom (color red) warning sirens are often heard throughout Israels’ south during rocket attacks from Gaza. It is a rare occurrence that the sirens are activated in the Southern Hebron Hills Region. But on Monday night, as over 300
rockets were shot into Israeli population centers, Hebron heard the sirens as well.
rockets were shot into Israeli population centers, Hebron heard the sirens as well.
Elimelech Karzen, a local coordinator from the Jewish community of Hebron commented, “we are not really used to this… a little taste of the incredible insanity that our brothers and sisters in the south are going through. Perhaps these alarms will finally awaken Hebron of old.”
He posted a video of the Tomb of Machpela with the tzeva adom blaring in the background.
Although no rockets actually reached as far as Hebron, a man from the area was killed, the only casualty in Israel during the two-day spate of missile fire.
Mahmoud Abu Asabeh a 48-year-old from Halhoul just outside Hebron was killed when Hamas terrorists fired a rocket into a residential apartment building in Ashkelon. Over 100 civilians were injuried as well.
Although a resident of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Asabeh held a work permit to travel to Israel-proper. His family told news media he worked in Israel for 15 years as a contractor and had friendly interactions with both Jews and Arabs. Mourning family and friends held a traditional Muslim ceremony at the Nabi Younis Mosque in Halhoul.
According to the Times of Israel, “The funeral was almost entirely devoid of chants and factional flags, which are commonplace at funerals for Palestinians killed in connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Traditional Middle Eastern scarfs, however, were laid on Mahmoud’s remains. No senior Fatah or PA officials attended the burial service… few journalists covered the event.”
Abu Asabeh’s last Facebook post was a short video Israel’s Iron Dome intercepting a rocket in nearby Ashdod with the words, “Ashdod now. May God be gentle.”
The city of Halhoul is located in the greater Hebron Governorate in Area A of Judea. The Nebi Younis mosque and adjacent cemetery where Abu Asabeh was laid to rest is considered by traditional Muslim believe to be the burial site of the Prophet Jonah from the Bible. According to Jewish tradition it is the site of the graves of the Biblical figures Gad the Seer and Nathan the Prophet.
Halhoul is mentioned in the Bible as a town near Hebron and large amounts of pottery has been unearthed there bearing inscriptions in ancient Hebrew. For more information on Jewish history in Halhoul click here: http://en.hebron.org.il/history/833
The Jewish Community of Hebron issued a message of support for the Israel Defense Forces, emergency medics and other personnel who were deployed during the barrage which was the culmination of months of build up as Hamas launched incendiary kites and balloons into Israel.
Historically, Hebron has been considered the connection to Israel’s south, and at certain periods, was the closest Jewish population center to Gaza. In 1619, an epidemic in Hebron drove most of the townspeople to Gaza’s Jewish community for safety. In 1799 CE Napoleon’s invasion forced the Jews of Gaza to relocate to Hebron.
NOTES:
* In Hebron, mourning a Palestinian killed by Gaza – Times of Israel
* Reporter Saves Missing Woman’s Life after Ashkelon Rocket Strike – Jewish Press
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