Hebron’s Israeli rooftop settlers threaten the city’s Palestinian identity

Israeli settlers have expanded in Hebron’s Old City, with Palestinian residents and business owners’ presence under threat. He continues to practice the trade that has been part of his family’s history for decades. But the settlers in newly erected prefabricated structures on the rooftops over his shop have created uncertainty about the future of his tailoring business.

Yusuf said his father began working at the business about 80 years ago, and when he was just five years old, he began helping in the shop. Nearly 60 years later, he is still working there. “This shop is my livelihood and the livelihood of my family.

It enabled me to raise my children and provide them with an education,” he told Al Jazeera. Hebron’s Old City has had a settler presence since 1978, but these illegal outposts have extended since then to cover a wider area. About 500 settlers live in the Old City, despite it being illegal under international law, with Palestinians living there fearing that they will eventually engulf the whole of Hebron.