Hebron Wedding Postponed Indefinitely as Israeli Military Lockdown Displaces Thousands

Haidar Yahya Tamimi and his fiancée, Ruba, had meticulously planned their wedding for Friday, with all preparations complete. The 27-year-old had furnished their new home, selected his wedding suit, and sent invitations to approximately 1,000 guests. However, an Israeli military operation in Hebron, initiated after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint on October 23, has forced the indefinite postponement of their wedding and Haidar's displacement from his home in the al-Jalada neighborhood.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate lockdown of Hebron. Following the attack, Israeli bulldozers demolished buildings near the site of the incident and conducted house-to-house searches in the al-Jalada and Ein Deir Baha neighborhoods, where the attackers resided. By Monday, the Hebron municipality reported that over 3,100 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced.

Haidar, a radiology technician at the Palestine Red Crescent Society Hospital in Hebron, had been preparing for the wedding feast scheduled for Thursday evening. The couple had chosen furniture for their new home and Haidar had his wedding suit ready. However, on the evening of October 23, Hebron was declared a closed military zone. Haidar and his family, along with other residents of al-Jalada and Ein Deir Baha, were ordered to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night, taking only essential belongings. All wedding preparations are now inaccessible in their home.

Haidar has been unable to return to his home due to the Israeli lockdown. He managed to reach a vantage point where he could see his house but could not get closer due to the military presence. "I looked at the house and saw that my dream was supposed to happen here, but it has been postponed indefinitely," Haidar stated, recounting that relatives showed him security camera footage of soldiers entering his home. The current condition of the house remains unknown, and the couple has not set a new wedding date, awaiting the end of the lockdown.

The Israeli lockdown has also impacted local businesses. Rukn al-Asala, a travel agency in al-Jalada specializing in Muslim pilgrimage services, has been affected, with manager Kamal al-Sharif unable to access his office. The agency was organizing an Umrah pilgrimage for 15 people, scheduled to depart on Wednesday, but the prospective travelers' passports are still in the office. Additionally, seven passports that arrived from the Chinese embassy on October 22, intended for traders planning to travel to China on October 26, are also trapped in the office. These traders, despite having visas, cannot travel without their passports, leaving them unable to attend an exhibition in China to source equipment for their businesses. One trader, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, has had his flight and hotel bookings canceled and is unable to obtain necessary business supplies.