Al-Shuhada Street

Al-Shuhada Street or Shuhada Street (Arabic: شارع الشهداء‎‎) (Martyr's Street), (Hebrew: רחוב המלך דוד‎‎) (King David Street) also spelled (in accordance with the pronunciation) a-Shuhada Street or ash-Shuhada Street, is a street in Hebron.

Shuhada Street, the main road leading to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, used to be the central wholesale market of the Hebron region, as its central location to the tomb, and the location of the bus station and police station, made it a natural gathering place. After riots following the February 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, Israel closed the street for Palestinians. In the early 2000s, in accordance with the , the street was completely reopened to Arab vehicular traffic. The shops, however, remained closed. Parts of the street were closed again to Palestinians after violence in the Second Intifada.

After the closure of all Palestinian shops, the Palestinian municipal and governmental offices, and the central bus station, which became an Israeli army base, al-Shuhada Street became virtually a ghost town. The Vegetable and Wholesale Markets next to the Avraham Avinu settlement are a closed area for Palestinians now. An annual international "Open Shuhada Street" demonstration has been organized since 2010.

While there are no official signs, al-Shuhada Street is the official name of the street, meaning Martyrs Street. Israelis call it "King David Street". In 2011, Palestinians temporarily renamed the street to "Apartheid Street". Explaining the change, Rafiq al-Jabari, aide to Hebron's Governor, said that the change would remain in place "until the end of the Apartheid segregation that is enforced by the settlers under the protection of occupation soldiers".

Following the Israeli occupation of Hebron in 1967, a number of settlements were established in and around the city. The first settlement, being Kiryat Arba, was started in 1968 near the Cave of the Patriarchs, which is located a few hundred meters north of the Shuhada Street. Sarah Nachshon, the wife of its founder, started another settlement in a police station in the Shuhada Street in 1979.

...
Wikipedia