CPTnet
May 2, 2003
HEBRON UPDATE: April 21-27, 2003
Monday, April 21
Curfew
CPTers Chris Brown, Donna Hicks, Diane Janzen, Mary
Lawrence, and Greg
Rollins left the old market via the ladder lady's door
(See February 27 release, "The Ladder Lady.") Brown
and Franzen headed to the Jabal Johar neighborhood
near the Israeli settlement Kiryat Arba, because the
Israeli military has slated homes there for
demolitions. Soldiers stopped them at the
end of "worshippers' way." They joined Hicks,
Lawrence, and Rollins on
school patrol instead.
The team observed Palestinian boys throwing stones at
Israeli military near the foot of Tariq ibn Ziad
Street. Two border police jeeps arrived and announced
over loudspeakers in Arabic and English that there was
school. Lawrence and Rollins helped some frightened
girls over the machsoum (barriers erected by the
military) and onto Tariq ibn Ziad Street. Lawrence
accompanied them part of the way up the street.
Eventually the stone throwing stopped and most of the
children got to school.
The team learned that eighteen internationals were
staying at the Jabal Johar homes threatened with
demolition.
Tuesday, April 22
Curfew lifted 6am-6pm
A Palestinian boy told CPTers that he had gone out
after curfew to get
feed for his family's livestock near the Abu Sneineh
neighborhood. A jeep
of soldiers stopped him and shouted at him in Hebrew.
When he did not
respond because he did not understand Hebrew, the
soldiers got out and hit
him with their rifles, breaking his arm.
Wednesday, April 23
Curfew lifted 6am-6pm
Lawrence called Ariel prison to check the status of an
International
Solidarity Movement (ISM) Palestinian activist and an
Italian reporter, letting
the officials know others were aware of the detentions
of activists and
journalists.
Hicks, Rollins, and the team's translator visited
families in the Beqa'a Valley. All talked about the
difficulties of moving produce into the city. They
also spoke about the Israeli settlers and how they
keep stealing the land. On the way back into Hebron,
they visited some of the families in Jabal Johar
threatened with home demolitions. They learned about
the internationals staying there and that the cases
are still in court.
On their way back down the hill, soldiers stopped them
many times because it was after curfew.
Thursday, April 24
Curfew 6pm-6am
A friend of the team in Beit Ummar called to report
that Israeli settlers
had kidnapped two tractor drivers and their vehicles
near the Israeli
settlement Karme Zur. The settlers released the
drivers after three hours
but kept the tractors. They said that no Palestinians
were allowed to work
on their land in that area. Settlers had also forced
Palestinians off their land
the day before.
Janzen and Ecumenical Accompanier Hallstein Laupsa
learned from the Jabal
Johar families that soldiers are searching their homes
daily.
Friday, April 25
Curfew at 6pm
CPTers Le Anne Clausen, Janzen, and Rollins spent the
night with the Jabal
Johar families threatened with home demolitions.
During the night, soldiers
entered the house where they were staying but left
quickly when they saw
CPTers along with five other internationals in the
house.
Saturday, April 26
Curfew lifted 12 noon-4pm
Clausen, Janzen, and Rollins watched Israeli soldiers
in Jabal Johar stop a
Palestinian van during curfew. They forced the driver
to drive the van to
the school at the top of the hill, taken over by the
army at the beginning
of the second Intifada, and leave it there. A
Palestinian friend told
Rollins that the driver would probably be allowed to
pick up his van in
several days.
Sunday, April 27
Curfew lifted 6am-6pm
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