CPTnet
20 June 2006

AT-TUWANI: "Security" wall built along route 317 reaches At-Tuwani

On 14 June 2006, the construction of the eighty centimeter "security" wall
reached the village of At Tuwani. In the preceding weeks, members of CPT
and Operation Dove monitored the progress of the work and participated in
demonstrations against the wall.

The wall consists of six-meter pieces of preformed concrete placed on an
even gravel bed. The pieces fit together in a tongue and groove pattern. In
the areas beside Route 317 where there is a steep incline or decline, the
wall stops. Persons in good physical shape can easily cross the wall, but
it is a barrier to vehicles, animals and persons with difficulties walking
and climbing.

In the afternoon of 14 June, members of CPT were watching the progress of
the wall, and realized it would soon reach the point where the Palestinian
road to Yatta crosses route 317. Yatta is the closest town of significant
size to At-Tuwani, and residents of At-Tuwani and surrounding villages
travel the road between the two places frequently. They contacted leaders
in the village to apprise them of the situation. Several men from the
village drove to the crossing and parked a truck in the place where they
desired an opening in the wall. The men negotiated with the construction
crew regarding the placement of the opening. The construction crew left an
opening approximately the size of one block, before continuing with the
work.

The construction crew left a six-meter break in the wall two kilometers
southwest of At-Tuwani, near the village of Qawawis. In Qawawis, the
construction crew placed a spare piece of wall beside the opening. One man
from Qawawis recently told the team, "With the extra piece sitting beside
the wall, it is very easy for them to return and close the opening. Then we
will have no access to Yatta and the rest of the West Bank."

Any farmer or shepherd between At-Tuwani and Qawawis wishing to access their
land on the other side of the road must travel to one of the two openings.
Especially for shepherds grazing their flocks, this "security" wall makes
access to their land impractical and difficult.

Local residents fear that this low wall is only the beginning. A resident
of At-Tuwani commented, "It will be very easy for the Israeli government to
put barbed wire on top of this wall and close the small openings. Right now
the people are relieved to have any openings, but these can quickly be taken
away."