Issa's house is a community center and our field office, and it is also the home of Palestinian human rights defender Issa Amro.
History and Location
Located inside H2, in the middle of Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron, the house is the heart of our activities and a reference point for Palestinians of the area. The house is located in the olive fields on top of a hill overlooking the city, situated directly next to an Israeli settlement and army base. The house belongs to a Palestinian family who were intimidated out of their homes by the Israeli army. As the house stood empty, Israeli soldiers began using it as an illegal military outpost, often interrogating and torturing detainees inside. The house was thrashed and vandalized, left to stand dilapidated with no windows, no doors, and soldiers' graffiti on the walls. Even water pipes and electricity wires were stolen. In 2006, Israeli settlers began showing interest in the house, frequenting it and seemingly intending to eventually turn it into an extension of the settlement. To protect the house, Issa Amro rented it from the Palestinian owners and showed up with the legal paperwork, stating that he lived here now. Israeli soldiers and settlers did what they could to prevent Issa from reaching the house.
Issa and a group of Palestinian—and Israeli—activists spent six months campaigning for the right of Issa to live in the house, making use of legal avenues, media attention, and sit-in action. After half a year, they succeeded and Issa could move into the house and turned it into a center for Palestinian nonviolent resistance against the occupation, and the group Youth Against Settlements were formed.
Issa’s House is now both a private residence and a public civic space. Located in the heart of Hebron, in an area profoundly affected by military control and settlement activity, the house has evolved over time into a center for community organizing, nonviolent resistance, and human rights work. Its significance lies not only in the activities it hosts, but in its continued existence as a lived, civilian space in an environment where Palestinian presence is systematically restricted. The house has several names: the Sumud center, the Youth Against Settlements center, Hebron Freedom House, or simply "Issa's house."
After the fight for remaining the house in Palestinian hands, we started restoring the house. The house became a center for nonviolent Palestinian resistance in Hebron that hosts several kind of activities and trainings: kids activities, English courses, legal training, social media trainings, video editing training, film screenings, social nights and activities, and photography trainings among others. The house also serves as a meeting point for international delegations.
A Center for Nonviolent Action and Education
Issa’s House has hosted a wide range of activities focused on nonviolent resistance, human rights education, and community empowerment. These include workshops on international humanitarian and human rights law, trainings in nonviolent protest and civilian protection, youth leadership programs, documentation trainings, and strategic discussions on community-based resistance.
The house has also served as a space for dialogue with international delegations, diplomats, journalists, students, and solidarity groups. By welcoming visitors directly into a lived Palestinian space, the house offers an opportunity to engage with the realities of Hebron beyond official briefings or mediated narratives. Testimony, documentation, and direct observation are central to this engagement.
Youth-focused work has been particularly important. The house has functioned as a place where young people can receive political education, mentorship, and training in disciplined nonviolent action. These activities emphasize collective responsibility, preparation, and the long-term nature of social change, rather than spontaneous or reactive protest.
Campaigns and Community Initiatives
From Issa’s House, campaigns have been organized to challenge movement restrictions, document human rights violations, and defend Palestinian civilian presence in areas under threat. These efforts have included coordinated nonviolent actions, legal advocacy support, and sustained documentation of policies affecting daily life in Hebron, particularly in the Old City and surrounding neighborhoods.
The house has also supported broader community initiatives, such as accompaniment of residents facing harassment, assistance to families navigating military orders, and coordination with local and international human rights organizations. In this way, it functions as both a logistical base and a symbolic anchor for nonviolent civic resistance.
Attacks, Harassment, and Pressure
Because of its visibility and political role, Issa’s House has repeatedly been targeted. It has been subjected to raids, surveillance, and harassment by Israeli forces, as well as attacks and intimidation by settlers in the surrounding area. These incidents have included attempts to disrupt gatherings, restrictions on access to the house, and physical damage to property.
Such attacks are not isolated events but part of a broader pattern in Hebron, where spaces of Palestinian civic life are routinely constrained or criminalized. The pressure placed on the house reflects its political significance: it challenges efforts to empty the area of Palestinian presence and to suppress organized, nonviolent resistance.
Despite this, the house has continued to function. Its ongoing use represents a refusal to allow intimidation to dictate the limits of civilian and political life.
