CPTnet
March 27, 2001
HEBRON: BABY KILLED; ARMY AND SETTLERS RETALIATE
by Dianne Roe
CPT strongly condemns the shooting of a ten month old Israeli
baby by a Palestinian gunman. The child, Shalhevet Pass, was killed in her
father's arms by a gunman who fired from the Palestinian
neighbourhood of Abu Sneineh into the Avraham Avinu settler
enclave at 4:30 yesterday afternoon. The Avraham Avinu enclave is a
fortified military post from which the Israeli military been firing into the
Abu Sneineh neighborhood during the past six months of the intifada.
After the murder of the child, CPT members watched from their
rooftop as the IDF retaliated by bombarding houses in
Abu Sneineh with shells and machine gunfire. The heavy shelling
continued until 6p.m.. During that time, armed settlers also
ransacked the Palestinian market next to Avrahim Avinu after
shop keepers closed up and curfew was imposed. At about 9:30
in the evening settlers then attempted to enter
the Palestinian-controlled Abu Sneineh area, but the
Israeli soldiers and police contained them.
"I think it is horrible that someone would shoot at a child,"
said Nisreen Abu Mayaleh, a friend of the team who lives in the
Abu Sneineh neighborhood. At 5 AM this morning Abu Mayaleh
called CPT to inform them that settlers had indeed made it into
the neighbourhood, and were approaching her house. Rick Polhamus
then observed from the team's roof settlers returning from
Abu Sneineh and firing back into it. More recently today a
trusted Israeli source told the team that Sharon has given the
army permission to demolish homes in Abu Sneineh.
It is with deep sadness that we note that the infant Shavalhet
spent more than half of her ten months in a war zone. We wish
she could have grown up in peace to meet Rami, a child from the
neighborhood of Hart iSheik whose bedroom was bombed last
November when he was ten months old. We pray for an end to all killing.
We deplore the punishment that the Israeli settlers and Israeli
military have imposed on a whole neighbourhood, due to one
gunman's actions. We join in asking for a UN sponsored
International Protection Force (unarmed) to save both
Israeli and Palestinian children.
______________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and Church of
the Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that supports violence
reduction efforts around the world. Contact CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680,
TEL. 312-455-1199 FAX 312-432-1213 / To receive news or discussion of CPT
issues by e-mail, fill out the form found on our WEB page at
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