Dream postponed: Hebron groom caught in Israeli military lockdown

What the report says

An Al Jazeera report from Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, describes how an Israeli military operation has upended daily life for Palestinians after an attack on October 23 in which two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint on the city’s western edge. Israel’s military then imposed a lockdown and declared parts of Hebron a closed military zone, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the measure. The report says the operation included house-to-house searches in the al-Jalada and Ein Deir Baha neighbourhoods, bulldozing near the site of the attack, and mass displacement.

Among those affected is 27-year-old Haidar Yahya Tamimi, who had spent four months preparing for his wedding to his fiancée, Ruba. He had bought furniture, chosen a suit, and sent invitations to about 1,000 guests, but he and his family were ordered to leave their home and have not been able to return. Al Jazeera says the wedding has now been postponed indefinitely, with Tamimi unable to access the house or know its condition.

The municipality of Hebron said by Monday that more than 3,100 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced. Local residents also told Al Jazeera that the lockdown has affected more than 100 businesses. One travel agency could not retrieve passports from its office, disrupting an Umrah pilgrimage group and other travel plans. The report shows how a security operation tied to the violence has also affected marriages, work, commerce and movement in the city.