Friday, May 21
Dianne Roe visited the Al Atrash family who have experienced three house
demolitions in the last 10 years. Manal Al-Atrash was recently engaged and
she shared her feelings about the upcoming marriage at length. Roe, an
artist, presented Manel with an engagement portrait.

Wednesday, May 26
Atta Jaber visited the team at home. The Israeli army has demolished the
Jaber's house twice in the last year, but Atta reported that recently he has
been given hints that he may be allowed to build on a small corner of his
land that the military authorities might "give" him. The rest of his
property has been confiscated for the nearby settlement of Harsina.

In the evening a four person Rebuilders Against Bulldozers (RAB) Delegation
arrived in Hebron.

Thursday, May 27
Abdel Hadi Hantash of the Palestinian Land Defense Committee (LDC) reported
that he visited the Israeli army's "Civil Administration" offices and was
shown maps detailing the confiscation of over 200 acres east of Hebron.

Friday, May 28
The team took the RAB delegation to the Beqa'a valley directly east of
Hebron and the settlements of Kiryat Arba and Harsina to show them how the
area has been affected by land confiscation and house demolitions that are
used to allow settlement expansion. After being shown the situation the
delegation ate Maqlube (a traditional Palestinian meal) with Atta and
Rodeina Jaber. The meal was served in the Jaber's tent situated between the
ruins of their two houses.

Monday, May 31
At noon the team received a call from Abdel Jawad Jaber (Atta Jaber's
father) saying that the army was demolishing his house. The team and RAB
delegation responded immediately and rushed to the site. Upon arrival at
the scene, they found that the house was not being demolished, but that
workers were dynamiting on the hill above the house to break up rocks and
clear the earth so that new settlement housing could be built there.
Israeli surveyors were also putting up lines within meters of the house to
mark where most likely a new retaining wall for the settlement would be
built (see release, "Conscience Medicine").

Thursday, June 3
The Palestinian Authority declared the day to be a "Day of Anger" against
Israel's settlement policy. In Hebron the political and religious
leadership organized a large demonstration that intended to march peacefully
from the Palestinian controlled area of the city into the Israeli controlled
area and then past the settlement of Beit Hadassah.

When the demonstrators reached the border of the two parts
of the city, several young teenagers picked up stones to throw at the
Israeli soldiers who were waiting for them. The teenagers were immediately
reprimanded by older organizers of the demonstration who yelled, "Walla
hajar! Walla hajar!" (No stones! No stones!). The youth dropped the
stones and the march continued peacefully. Before the demonstrators reached
the settlement, Israeli soldiers blocked the road and began to physically
push the marchers back. Realizing that they would not be allowed to
continue and that violence might break out, the Palestinian leaders ended
the demonstration and led the demonstrators back up the street and across
the border into the Palestinian controlled part of the city where the crowd
eventually dispersed.

Friday, June 4
The team and RAB delegation organized a demonstration in the Beqa'a valley
to protest the continuing land confiscation and settlement expansion in that
area. The demonstration focused on a large gas station that is being built
for the settlement on 17 acres of Palestinian land. CPTers were joined by
Israeli activists and members of families who are affected by the current
settlement activity in the area. CPTers had hoped to hang a large banner on
the gas station that read "THIS GAS STATION IS BUILT ON CONFISCATED
PALESTINIAN LAND. IT FUELS OCCUPATION AND POLLUTES PEACE." But the 15
Israeli army and police vehicles waiting for the demonstrators forced them
to abandon that plan.

Instead the demonstrators moved to newly confiscated land
belonging to Abdel Jawad Jaber that is directly opposite the gas station.
There they heard speeches from Israeli, Palestinian and Christian groups.
As a reminder of the lush orchard and garden that used to "occupy" the land,
they planted an olive tree in the recently bulldozed hillside. (See CPTNet
release "Protesting Occupation's Fuel and the Pollution of Peace").

Monday June 7
Abdel Hadi Hantash (LDC) stopped by to report that 200 acres of land were
confiscated near Sheyoukh village and 114 acres were confiscated near Asfar
settlement this week.

Tuesday June 8
CPTers Julie Hart and Benno Barg made Campaign for Secure Dwellings family
visits in the village of Beit Ommar. Families in general are feeling
hopeful that the Israeli-planned extension of bypass road 60 through their
land will be changed and their homes will be saved. When asked for the
source of this information, they agreed that it is a general understanding
and they have nothing in writing.

A Palestinian teen working in the chicken market below the CPT apartment was
arrested and released today. According to local eye witnesses, there was an
argument between local settler boys in the market and the Palestinian teen.
The verbal spat escalated into pushing. The settler boys called for the
Israeli soldiers to intervene. The Palestinian teen will report to the
court later this week.

Sunday June 13
After worshipping in Jerusalem, the team met with Alan Kreider who is
Director of the Center of Christianity and Culture at Regents Park College
in Oxford England. Alan is in the area doing historical orientation for
participants in the "Reconciliation Walk" and came to Hebron to learn more
about the work of CPT. The Reconciliation Walk is an effort by Christians
of European descent worldwide to retrace the route of the Crusaders and
apologize to Muslims and Jews for the carnage caused by the crusaders and
their corruption of Jesus' message of peace and love. The walk began two
years ago in Europe and will culminate July 15, on the 900th anniversary of
the Crusaders' sacking of Jerusalem.