The most populated and industrial city in the West Bank, Hebron is also the most tensely fought over; it has been divided into two parts since 1997. H1, 80% of the city, is under the control of the Palestinian Authority and includes the New City and most commercial centers; H2—made up of the settlements, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and much of the Old City—is under Israeli control. This area is inhabited mostly by Palestinians, though many have fled to make room for the fewer than a thousand Jewish settlers. Metal caged roofs surround some marketplaces to protect Palestinians from settler attack, but they are often covered with trash thrown down by aggressive settlers. Settler violence is common here, and was most dramatic in the mid-90s when Baruch Goldstein walked into the Tomb of Patriarchs and killed more than two dozen Palestinians and wounded more than 100. The vast military presence protects settlers, so there is no theoretical possibility for retaliation. The Hebron status quo, therefore, is tectonic-plates-grinding-against-each-other tense. Visible similarity to a Jewish settler or one of their supporters will earn you immediate suspicion among Palestinians; appearance as a Palestinian or foreign aid worker will earn you hate in the eyes of some settlers; and simply seeming to be a tourist will lead to relentless pursuit by beggars in the Old City.

For some, then, a visit to Hebron can be extremely troubling and dangerous. For others, however, it is the best view into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a sort of laboratory in which various kinds of acid are carefully dropped into a single test tube, resulting in constant minor explosions. Volunteers have endless quantities of work to do here, from fixing up broken-down homes and closed shops to helping document violence. Hebron is also home to one of the most important sights in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and has a restricted but lively commercial life along Ansara St. Hebron isn’t really a tourist destination, so those who want to break through the fourth wall of travel into the irreconcilable conflicts and daily lives of some West Bank residents will find the starkest realities here.