CPTnet
24 June 2006

AT-TUWANI UPDATE: 1- 9 June 2006

DAILY ROUTINE:

Each day the team accompanied local shepherds in nearby areas; because of
the warmer weather, the shepherds tended to go out in the early morning and
then again in the late afternoon. In addition to Operation Dove (Doves),
CPT's partner organization in At-Tuwani, CPT team members during this period
were Diane Janzen, Heidi Schramm and Diana Zimmerman.

Thursday 1 June 2006

Janzen and a Dove went to the village of Migael Abed to document the
demolition of toilets, which took place the previous day. (See 5 June CPTnet
release, "AT-TUWANI: Demolitions and orders of demolitions." )

Representatives from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) and Oxfam held a meeting with some men from the village. They
discussed their plans to bring water in to At-Tuwani and surrounding
villages in the near future. CPT and Operation Dove agreed to accompany the
water deliveries if the drivers experience army or settler harassment.

Friday 2 June 2006

The CPT delegation to Palestine visited the team in At-Tuwani for the day.
While on a tour of the area, soldiers stopped them and asked what they were
doing. The soldier then told them they were in a closed military zone, but
had none of the necessary paperwork to substantiate this claim. The group
continued with their planned tour while the soldiers watched.

In the evening, the four delegates staying in At Tuwani for the night, and
team members helped an elderly woman in the village water a tree she planted
in memory of CPTer Tom Fox. She planted the tree forty days after his death,
which is the traditional mourning period for Palestinians. The delegates
spent the night with this family.

Saturday 3 June 2006

Janzen, Zimmerman, an international guest and the four delegates went to the
village of Suseya to accompany Palestinians in a water pumping action. The
rest of the delegates met the group, joined by several Israeli activists.
Palestinians pumped water from large cisterns located near an Israeli
outpost and military base. They filled three large tanks and took the water
by tractor to the villages of Qawawis and She'b Bottom. The police and
military monitored the action closely, following the tractors at all times.
Police officers stopped the delegates and CPT members, telling them the
Palestinians could continue pumping water until 1:30 in the afternoon if the
internationals left. They agreed to leave, and walked to the village of
Suseya to wait for a van to arrive and take them back to Hebron. A jeep
filled with soldiers followed them, at one point getting out the vehicle and
chasing them. Janzen convinced the soldiers that the delegates merely needed
to get out of the sun and would be waiting in a tent. The delegates and team
members had coffee with a family. The Palestinians invited the soldiers in
for coffee and shade as well, but the soldiers declined the offer. The
delegation soon left, and Janzen and the CPT volunteer joined Zimmerman at
the pumping site without incident. Pumping continued until 2:30 in the
afternoon.

Sunday 4 June 2006

Schramm and a Dove participated in a demonstration against the low
"security" wall in the village of Qawawis. (See 13 June CPTnet release,
"Villagers demonstrate against low 'security' wall" and 20 June release,
"'Security' wall built along route 317 reaches At-Tuwani.) They stopped
construction on the wall for close to two hours. The police and military
came out en masse, but arrested no one. The demonstration broke up when the
Palestinians negotiated with the soldiers and received word that the opening
in the wall would remain in place and a second opening would be made further
down the road.

Tuesday 6 June 2006

In the afternoon, Israeli soldiers approached a shepherd from At-Tuwani.
They shoved the shepherd, and kicked and threw rocks at his sheep. By the
time Schramm and Zimmerman arrived, the soldiers were gone.

Friday 9 June 2006

The CPT Hebron team came to At-Tuwani to participate in a demonstration
against the wall. (20 June release, "'Security' wall built along route 317
reaches At Tuwani.) Soldiers began gathering at the entrance to At-Tuwani
over two hours before the demonstration began. They checked IDs but allowed
all Palestinians to pass.

In the afternoon, Schramm and a Dove accompanied a shepherd and his sheep,
just below Havot Ma'on (Hill 833.) He was the shepherd who experienced
harassment from soldiers the previous day. He expressed frustration because
the soldiers harass him regularly when he is alone, but behave differently
when the internationals are present. He asked the two internationals to sit
by the trees near the outpost, where soldiers were less likely to see them.

A few minutes after they arrived, Schramm and the Dove spotted two settlers
crouching under a nearby tree watching them. Schramm and the Dove left the
trees to move closer to the shepherd, and the settlers retreated.