CPTnet
October 15, 2003
HEBRON: Army tear-gasses children on their way to and from school.

by Kathy Kamphoefner

Israeli soldiers tear-gassed Palestinian students on their way to and from
school today in the H2 area of Hebron. The H2 area, i.e., the
Israeli-controlled part of the City of Hebron, was under tight security for
the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth.

When CPTers Chris Brown, Diane Janzen, and Mary Lawrence went to walk
children to school at 7:00 am Monday morning, they found the main gate of
the Old City closed next to the Ibrahimi Mosque/ Cave of Machpela. Several
thousand Israeli settlers had come to Hebron to tour Hebron and worship at
the synagogue inside the historic building for Sukkoth. Large numbers of
Israeli army and Border Police patrolled streets nearby.

Janzen and Lawrence watched children coming to school near Shuhada Street,
the route to the synagogue, while Brown checked the area, heading to Tariq
Bin Zeyad Boys' School. He saw an army jeep patrolling back and forth. Two
army jeeps and one Border Police jeep were parked at the junction next to
Tariq Bin Zeyad School.

"Can the kids go to school today?" Brown asked one of the soldiers. He said
they could. The jeep quickly left after a patrol car of international
observers drove by.

At the CPT apartment, a call came in from the school principal of Tariq Bin
Zeyad School saying curfew was being imposed on the area surrounding the
schools. Soldiers did not permit local cars to drive in the area. The army
told the principal the children could remain in school for the day. The
principal asked CPTers to walk the children home when the schools let out at
11:30 am.

At 11 am, the CPTers returned to the area. They saw two army jeeps there. A
Border Police jeep arrived not long after and sat at the junction. As
800-900 children came out of schools, and others began arriving for the
second shift of the school day, a few older boys began throwing stones at
the Border Police. The Border Police shot tear-gas toward the children five
times. The school principal, teachers and CPTers rushed the children away
from the gas.

Another international observer knocked on the jeep window and asked, "What
are you doing here?" One of the Border Police said, "The children are
throwing stones at us."

Near the girls' school, a British-born Israeli soldier called to Lawrence,
"Mary, Mary, come on down here and accompany these girls. They so afraid."
The CPTers remained in the area monitoring the situation until about 2:30
pm.