CPTnet
13 June 2006

AT-TUWANI: Villagers demonstrate against low "security" wall

On the afternoon of 9 June, villagers from At-Tuwani and surrounding
villages in the South Hebron Hills demonstrated in protest of the low inner
"security" wall that the Israeli government is building along bypass road
317.

The proposed wall is an eighty-centimeter-high concrete barrier on the north
side of the road. Fourteen kilometers long, it stretches from the settlement
of Tene to the settlement of Carmel. Decisions are pending in Israeli High
Court regarding the construction of the wall and the confiscation of the
land to build the wall. Nevertheless, Israeli construction workers have
already placed the concrete wall blocks alongside the road up to one half
kilometer south of At-Tuwani. Although the workers left a few openings in
the wall, promising that the Palestinians will be able to pass through at
these points, the workers left blocks near the openings that can be used to
close them off. Even if the Israeli authorities install openings or gates
in the wall, the wall hinders the natural north/south movement of the
Palestinian population living in the area.

About thirty internationals (including members of CPT, Operation Dove and
the International Solidarity Movement), and about thirty Israelis
(organized by the Israeli peace group Ta'ayush ) supported nearly 100
Palestinians in the demonstration. Palestinians from Yatta, Hebron, and
Beit Ummar also attended the demonstration.

A sheik from Yatta led the Friday noon prayers in At Tuwani for men from
At-Tuwani and surrounding villages. Shortly before 2:00 p.m., Palestinians
and internationals marching from Yatta to the north and At-Tuwani to the
south converged at route 317. Israeli activists joined them there.

The demonstration took place as planned even though the police had earlier
declared the area beside the bypass road a closed military zone. Further
north along the road, police tried unsuccessfully to prevent Israeli peace
activists from reaching the area. The demonstrators chanted slogans and
lined up on both sides of the road with banners and signs: in Arabic: "In
Spite of Your Settlers, Settlements and Walls, We Will Never Leave Our
Land," in English: "No Wall However Tall," and in Hebrew: "Bring Water not
a Wall." Several Palestinians spoke to the gathered demonstrators and the
media about the problems that already exist for the Palestinians living in
the area, and how the wall will add to the difficulties. Palestinian
organizers ensured that the demonstration remained nonviolent and that the
demonstrators did not block traffic on the road.

Palestinians expressed satisfaction with the demonstration, saying it met
their goal of gathering support and raising awareness in the media about
their situation.