On 26 June 2008, the Israeli military issued a demolition order on the partially constructed water cistern in the village of At-Tuwani, built with financial support from a Spanish NGO. If completed, the cistern will provide a vital additional water source in the arid region of the South Hebron Hills.

Also on 26 June, the Israeli military issued a demolition order on a home in At-Tuwani and on four homes in the nearby village of Umm Faggarah.

The following day, 27 June 2008, at 9:00 a.m., the Israeli military returned to the area and blocked the road between At-Tuwani and Yatta.

On 24 June 2008, around 6:30 p.m., two Israeli settlers beat two unarmed Palestinian shepherds from Mantiquat Shi'bal Butum. The settlers came down from the nearby Israeli settlement outpost of Mitzpe Yair to an area where the shepherds, aged fifty-five and twenty, routinely graze their sheep. Armed with stones from the hillside, the settlers injured the ribs of the older shepherd and the eye of the younger. A Palestinian in the area called the Israeli police and ambulance, both of which arrived fifteen minutes after the beating.

Information on delegations to First Nations territories, Colombia, Palestine/Israel, and Iraq/Kurdistan.

PRAYERS FOR PEACEMAKERS, Wed., Jun. 25, 2008

Give thanks for those receiving nonviolence training in Iraq. Christian Peacemaker Teams has recently contributed sessions on human rights to extensive, locally organized trainings.

Doug Pritchard
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Toronto, Canada

In Queen's Park, Toronto, there's a round cement bench designed so people can sit all around it and not have to look at each other. It made me ask how much in our colonial culture has been designed like that, to give us desired space and privacy but also to isolate us from each other. Several years, ago I took a microbusiness course and the facilitator talked about a current social tendency he called "cocooning," which is essentially isolating ourselves in comfortable homes. From this place of weakness and isolation, I recognize that something really unusual and powerful happened at the "Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors" and the "Sovereignty Sleepover" (26-28 May), as three First Nations Communities-Grassy Narrows, Ardoch Algonquin, and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI)-gathered with supporters at Queen's Park.

The first Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation to Nariño province spent three days in Bogotá and a week in Nariño, meeting with representatives from Awa and Afro-Colombian communities, as well as human rights and government organizations. Because of the harsh punishment that Colombia's tragic, unending conflict has imposed on the Awa and Afro-Colombian communities, I began to ask each of the people with whom we met, "In the context of the violence in Nariño, what gives you hope?"

Do not get sick (or try to be born) at inappropriate times such as nights, Jewish holidays, U.S. presidential visits-or when the local military commander has planned a checkpoint between your house and the hospital with no particular reason.

PRAYERS FOR PEACEMAKERS, Wed., Jun. 18, 2008

Pray for those displaced by the continuing armed conflict in Colombia. Up to 4 million have fled their homes, comparable to the levels of displacement in Iraq and Sudan.

Doug Pritchard
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Toronto, Canada

In its work in Iraq, in both the south and the north, CPT often receives requests from friends in the United States who want to contribute directly to the efforts of Iraqis working for peace, and for ways to connect with Iraqis as individuals. CPT Iraq is happy to tell you of one such opportunity, which requires time, effort and some resources. CPT believes it provides a unique opportunity to engage in direct peacemaking and bridge-building without participants having to leave the United States.

Tuesday 15 April

Arbour responded to a call for his presence at the Al Rahma bakery, run by the Islamic Charitable Society, which supplies bread to children's orphanages. He photographed the results of a raid by soldiers during the night: walk-in ovens and heating ducts wrecked, and all raw materials, equipment, and most of the inventory confiscated.

Knight, Lingle, and Rehm visited Mousa Abu Maria's brother Yusef and their father, Abdul Hamid Abu Maria. Mousa is a non-violent peace activist in Beit Ummar, abducted by the Israeli army on 11 April.