Dec 10, 2001 Missiles fired on Vehicle

Missiles fired on vehicle in Hebron. 3 killed, including a small child. Call Georgina Reeves on 055 840 767.

Dec 2, 2001 CPT Hebron Update

Hebron Update: November 26-December 2, 2001

Monday, November 26. No curfew. 11th day of Ramadan.

Two Swedish women, part of the World Council of Churches team evaluating possibilities for an ecumenical observer presence in the West Bank, visited the team. Members of the CPT delegation from the U.S. and Canada visited Palestinian families in Beit Ummar, Al Sendas, and the Beqa'a Valley overnight. The families are matched with North American churches and groups through CPT's Campaign for Secure Dwellings (CSD).

Wednesday, November 28. No curfew. 13th day of Ramadan.

CPTers Benno Barg, Rick Polhamus and Greg Rollins heard explosions from the CPT house and went to investigate. Several Palestinian children were throwing stones at Israeli soldiers behind the Ibrahimi Mosque, and the soldiers had responded with percussion grenades. The CPT delegation left for Jerusalem and then to North America. Returning from Bethlehem, CPTer JoAnne Lingle challenged soldiers who asked for her passport at the Bethlehem checkpoint, showing her CPT identification instead. She pointed out that passports should only be necessary when crossing recognized international borders. The soldier insisted on seeing her visa, and Lingle showed her visa but not her passport.

Thursday, November 29. No curfew. 14th day of Ramadan.

CPTers Le Anne Clausen, Claire Evans and Polhamus traveled to Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, for a meeting. The trip, which takes about 30 minutes under normal circumstances, took 3 hours. Because of roadblocks, their taxi tried one route after another over back roads to get out of Hebron. Going through an orchard, the vehicle passed an Israeli army tank, which shot a canister of tear gas at it. Returning to Hebron in the evening, the taxi was stopped at the Arroub refugee camp, and passengers were ordered to get out and walk. However, in a few minutes the vehicle was allowed to continue, and picked up the passengers. At the Halhoul checkpoint, passengers were required to disembark once again, walk over a machsom (roadblock of dirt and rocks), and catch another taxi to Hebron. As the passengers walked toward the machsom, an Israeli soldier shot a percussion grenade, but no one was hurt. Reuben Penner, a member of the recent CPT delegation, rejoined the team from Jerusalem. He reported that he had to walk from the checkpoint near Gush Etzion settlement to Halhoul (a distance of about 3 miles) because Palestinian taxis were not permitted on the main road. On evening patrol, Penner, Polhamus and Rollins saw Israeli soldiers enter a Palestinian home in Hebron's Old City. When the CPTers asked about the situation, soldiers guarding the door told them to leave the area; however, the three stayed until the soldiers came out of the house. When CPTers asked the residents what had happened, they were told that soldiers often do such random checks in peoples' homes.

Friday, November 30. No curfew. 15th day of Ramadan.

CPTers Mary Lawrence and Lingle joined 40-50 Israelis in Jerusalem for a "Women in Black" peace vigil. The group has met every Friday since the first Intifada except for a few weeks in 1993. A counter-demonstration of about 15-20 Israelis was held on the opposite side of the same square. When shopping in the market near Bab iZawiye (in H1, the Palestinian Authority-controlled part of town) about 10:30 a.m., Evans and Polhamus saw Palestinian Authority riot police dragging away a man. The man and police were followed by about 50 other men. The CPTers questioned Palestinian shopkeepers, who said the scuffle had to do with orders to clear produce vendors from the streets and in front of shops in Bab iZawiye. Many vendors had relocated into this area when Israeli settlers destroyed parts of the market in the H2 (Israeli military-controlled) section of town after a settler baby was killed by a Palestinian in April 2001. In the afternoon, Rollins observed clashes between Palestinian youth and Israeli military in the area of the market between H1 and H2. He was joined later by Evans and Penner, who saw an army jeep pull up, and a soldier get out and fire a percussion grenade away from them into the street that was deserted except for stones littering the pavement .

Sunday, December 2. No curfew. 17th day of Ramadan.

The team was shocked and dismayed to awaken to news that 10 Israelis had been killed the previous night and some 180 injured by two suicide bombers and a car bomb in West Jerusalem. Taxis to Jerusalem were infrequent because of the difficulties of road closures, so most of the team was not able to attend church in Jerusalem. About 1:30 p.m., the team learned of a bus bomb in Haifa that had killed 13 Israelis. A Palestinian friend met Clausen and Rollins near the team apartment and said: " I'm an Arab but this is disgusting. You want peace? You don't do this. You make peace with your neighbors on the street because the people in the offices don't care. This was a dirty thing to do." Shortly after this exchange, 8-10 Israeli settler women and girls tried to enter the Palestinian market from Shuhada street near the CPT apartment. An equal number of Israeli soldiers prevented them from entering. Shortly, some soldiers suggested to shopkeeper that they close their stores. About 3 p.m., on their way to stay overnight with a CSD family in Beit Ummar, CPTers Anita Fast and Rollins were stopped at the Halhoul machsom by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers said no one was allowed to leave Halhoul, and fired tear gas at some Palestinians who had gone around the machsom another way to get to their village. When Rollins challenged their actions, one soldier replied, "We aren't doing anything wrong. We are good soldiers." After seeing Fast's and Rollins's CPT identification, they allowed them to pass on foot. While on the road, the CPTers came across a Palestinian Hebron-Beit Ummar bus that had been stopped by an Israeli Army jeepload of soldiers. The soldiers had ordered all the men out of the bus and were checking their identification. Fast and Rollins stood among them watching and taking photos. Within a few minutes the soldiers allowed the bus to continue. Rollins and Fast got into the crowded bus and road the rest of the way to Beit Ummar.

Nov 9, 2001 More Stone Throwing in Hebron

In Hebron once again Palestinian teachers and students were stoned by settler children. This stoning has become a daily ritual. The wholesale market under Avraham Avinu settlement has been declared a closed military area since settlers rioted there in March. Palestinian shoppers and shopkeepers are denied access to the shops.

Sept 26, 2001 The Military overrules the high court in Susya

The inhabitants of the Susya region (South Hebron mountains), who had been expelled from their land, were granted the right to return to their homes through an interim decision by the Israeli High Court (see more detailed background below). On the very same day, when they tried to reach their homes, IDF soldiers prevented them from doing so. The area was declared a closed military zone until 26.12.2001 - three months from now.

BACKGROUND
In the caves of the south Hebron hills Palestinian shepherds have been living for decades. Two months ago, following the murder of a Jewish settler from the Susya, settlement IDF bulldozers demolished caves in which Palestinian shepherds were living in and filled in their water cisterns. When approached by human rights attorney Shlomo Lecker, the civil administration gave a written promise that they would carry out no further demolitions without presenting a warrant, allowing him a chance to appeal to the high court. Despite this promise, on the night of September the 18th inhabitants of the region were evicted from their homes by Israeli military forces; all their remaining caves, tents and water cisterns were destroyed. To protest against this transfer, some 80 activists of Ta'ayush, Rabbis for Human Rights and others reached the area on Monday, 24.9 and some stayed there overnight in order to guarantee that the Palestinian inhabitants would not be expelled again until their petition to the Israeli High Court is heard. On Tuesday morning a unit of armed soldiers tried to expel the Palestinians to Zone A. Activists who were present at the stop the soldiers by standing between them and the Palestinians. On Wednesday, the right of the people of the region to return was recognized by the Israeli High Court. And a statement was issued by the IDF and civil administration that they would cease to evict the Palestinians or to demolish their dwellings. Once again the promise has not been kept and the Palestinian shepherds have been expelled. A protest at the area is will take place Saturday. for more info- Neta Golan 052-481-261

Aug 27, 2001 11.00am

Forty children defied the twenty-four hour curfew imposed on the Israeli controlled area in the old city of Hebron. They were accompanied by a few brave parents and members of the Christian Peace Making Team, who stood between the children and the soldiers who surrounded them. The children, who have lived under one hundred and eighty days of curfew over the last ten months, carried signs demanding "the right to play " and "the right to fresh air". As apposed to regular prisoners who after a trail are entitled to an hour of fresh air a day, adequate food and medical care the residents of H2 in Hebron are systematically denied any such right. Within fifteen minutes the soldiers forced the children back into their home imprisonment. For more information call Angie Zeltser 055376204. For video or digital footage call Neta Golan 052-481261