CPTnet
January 19, 2000
Hebron Update: December 18 31, 1999

Saturday, December 18
CPTers walking up Shuhada Sreet came upon a Palestinian shopkeeper whose
I.D. card had been held by a soldier for over an hour. They asked the
soldiers why. One told them that the Arabs wanted to kill Jewish children.

Monday, December 20
Natasha Krahn and Art Gish visited families in the Campaign for Secure
Dwellings (CSD) in the Beqa a Valley east of Hebron. One Palestinian said,
"The Israeli presence is like a sore throat. It is not likely to kill you,
but it is a bother, and you
always know it is there."

Krahn and Gish learned that since the large greenhouses in the Beqa a Valley
have demolition orders from the Israeli military government, they have been
sold and will be dismantled soon.

Tuesday, December 21
In the evening, 250 settlers surrounded the Omar and Lamia Sultan house,
threatening to demolish the house themselves if the Israeli military
government would not. One settler tried to enter the house. Two demolition
orders were issued, by the military government, to the family against the
house in 1995. Gish's community and church in Ohio, and the College
Mennonite Church in Goshen, IN, are matched with the Sultan family in CPT's
Campaign for Secure Dwellings.

Wednesday, December 22
For worship, Pierre Shantz lit 45 candles to commemorate the 2nd
anniversary of the massacre of 45 nonviolent indigenous Christians, Las
Abejas, or the Bees, in Chiapas, Mexico. The team discussed the effect
that people dying in a nonviolent way can have on the world.

Gish, along with Joanne Kaufman and Reinhard Kober, went on a settlement
tour with Abdel Hadi Hantash, Palestinian Land Defense Committee surveyor.
They observed that two settlements, Pene Hever southeast of Hebron and Karme
Tzur,
north of Hebron, have expanded. New homes are under construction, although
there are uninhabited houses in the settlements. Caravans, or new
trailers, have been set up on confiscated Palestinian land. Hantash showed
the CPTers a
gravel road that settlers from Karme Tzur had tried to build to expand the
settlement. After Palestinian farmers and landowners from nearby Beit Ummar
protested the road cutting through their vineyards below the hilltop
settlement, the
military government closed it off with large rocks.

After several weeks of harassment from Israeli settlers, the Sultan family
invited CPT to begin a presence with them. The team sent Gish as a
one-person presence, since he is matched with the family through CSD.
About 25 Israeli settlers were demonstrating between the house and the
bypass road 75 meters below it. They wanted the Sultan house demolished.
They were also demanding that land, owned by another Palestinian family
just north of the house, be turned over for the expansion of Kiryat Arba 3
km away. The Israeli military moved the settlers and their banners across
the road.

The settlers built a fire across the road and the Sultan's built a fire in
front of their house to keep warm for the vigil through the night.

Friday, December 24
Israeli settlers ended their vigil shortly after noon for the Sabbath. Not
having to worry about harassment for the next day, the Sultan family
enjoyed the breaking of the daily Ramadan fast with friends and family that
evening. The rest of the team spent Christmas in Bethlehem.

Saturday, December 25
The whole team participated in the 11th annual peace walk, coordinated by
the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement, from Shepherds Field in Beit
Sahour to Manger Square in Bethlehem. The theme of this year s walk was
reconciliation between Muslims and Christians. About 3000 people
participated.

When Gish returned to the Sultan house, Israeli settlers were holding a
large rally across the road. Late in the evening, about 100 settlers began
tearing down a rock terrace wall near the house, despite the presence of
Israeli police and soldiers. The settlers declared that they would return
on Tuesday to demolish the Sultan house and start a settlement.
 (December 26 release, "Prayers and Speeches, Destruction and Hope on
Christmas Day. ")

Monday, December 27
No settlers appeared but many Palestinian neighbors, journalists and
international visitors went to the Sultan home to offer support. Two Jewish
peace activists from Gush Shalom ( Peace Bloc, an Israeli peace
organization) and two Jewish activists from the U.S. and Canada spent the
night with the family in case bulldozers came the next morning. Other
Israeli peace activists and organizations also contacted the Israeli
government to express their concern for the
Sultan family's safety.

Tuesday, December 28
The Israeli government promised that the Sultan home would not be
demolished. Israeli soldiers arrived at the house at 11 a.m. and said that
the area had been declared a closed military zone, and that everyone but the
Sultan's would have to leave or risk arrest. Three Gush Shalom activists
were prepared to stay, but the soldiers did not carry out the threat. A
bus and several car-loads of other Israeli peace activists came and held
banners all afternoon to support the family. CPTers stayed overnight again
in case settlers came but none did. ( See Dec. 30 release, House Under
Siege in the Beqa'a Valley: A Question of Hospitality.")

Wednesday, December 29
Israeli soldiers again declared a closed military zone in the
morning. CPTers visiting the Sultan family left, and Gish left for a few
hours to visit neighbors a few houses away. A bus-load of Israeli settlers
arrived and held another demonstration on the land north of the Sultan
house for several hours before being removed by Israeli soldiers. At one
point, they rushed toward the Sultan house but were stopped by Israeli
soldiers at a stone wall near the house.

Thursday, December 30
Local Palestinian Authority leaders organized a demonstration at the land
near the Sultan house. They were stopped for over an hour a mile away from
the house before some were allowed to visit the Sultan house. The
demonstrators included a member and former member of the Israeli Knesset,
the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, a member of the Palestinian Legislative
Council and several Israeli peace activists.

While the group was visiting the Sultan's, an Israeli military commander
told the group that the Sultan home would not be demolished.