CPTnet
October 20, 2002
HEBRON UPDATE: October 2-7, 2002

Wednesday, October 2
Old market closed by IDF 9 am.
No curfew

Donna Hicks and Bourke Kennedy observed two Israeli settlers, one of whom
was armed, on the upper floor of an unoccupied house in the old market
backing up to the Beit Romano settlement.

Hicks and Kennedy, along with the team's translator, visited with a pregnant
woman who had been overcome by tear gas. (See October 8 release,
"Pregnant woman overcome by tear gas".) Her mother lives near the
checkpoint at the road to Kiryat Arba. She told Hicks and Kennedy that
soldiers frequently come to her home at night looking for Palestinian men.
They ask, "Where is your husband?" She replies, "Many times I have told you
my husband is dead. Come to the cemetery and I will show you."

Thursday, October 3
Old market closed by IDF around noon. No curfew

A soldier at a checkpoint called over Bob Holmes. The soldier asked, "Who
are you?" Holmes replied, "I'm a human rights worker and I'm concerned
about why you are holding these three Palestinian men." "They're
terrorists," said the soldier. "How do you know that?" "Anyone could be a
terrorist even that old man over there." Holmes replied, "The only ones
causing terror around here right now are the people with guns like
yourself." The soldier said, "I have a very powerful gun."

Friday, October 4
No curfew

Saturday, October 5
No curfew

Hicks and Holmes, along with the team's translator, investigated a report
that soldiers had detained a 16 year old girl for throwing stones at
soldiers on a roof across from her home. She was released five minutes
after the CPTers' arrival at the police station at the foot of the Ibrahimi
Mosque. "Not," the police officer said, "because you [CPT] arrived."

Sunday, October 6
No curfew

Hicks and Kennedy heard a report that a Palestinian schoolgirl had been
arrested when she ran from soldiers. While waiting for more information at
the police station near the Ibrahimi Mosque, they learned that settlers had
welded shut or padlocked the doors of homes of Palestinians on Dubboya
Street and that the Israeli police came and helped the families get out.

The CPTers then met with two Palestinian men who had witnessed the detention
of the schoolgirl. She had been walking on the road in back of the cemetery
at the foot of Abu Sneineh and Tel Rumeida, when the soldiers called "Stop,
stop!" The witness, a cemetery worker, thought they were calling to him.
Then he saw the schoolgirl running away from the soldiers. He reported that
a soldier put his hand on her shoulder, grabbed her wrists, kicked her
several times, patted her down for weapons, and dumped the contents of her
schoolbag on the ground. Later, the CPTers and the team's translator were
able to direct the girl's father to the Kiryat
Arba police station.

Monday, October 7
Curfew called in H2 and Bab iZawiyyeh 1pm

Kristin Anderson, Hicks, Kennedy, Sue Rhodes, and the team's translator
visited Qilkis to follow up on a report from a CSD family that the Civil
Administration had taken pictures of buildings built without permits and had
said they would return with demolition orders. They were able to meet with
the headmaster, teachers, and students at the school, also built without a
permit.

On their return to Hebron, the team questioned soldiers about why curfew
had been called. The soldiers replied that "something was going to happen"
and it was to protect Israeli settlers and Palestinians from one another.
The team later observed a Torah procession going down Shuhada Street towards
the synagogue at Abraham's Tomb.