CPTnet
17 July 2006

AT-TUWANI: Access from At-Tuwani to Yatta blocked

On the morning of 13 July, the Israeli military closed the At-Tuwani opening
in the low "security" wall that runs along Israeli bypass road 317. This
closure cuts off At-Tuwani and the surrounding villages' access to Yatta and
the vast majority of the West Bank.

In June 2006, the Israeli military built an eighty cm high "security" wall
along the north side of bypass road 317. This construction took place
despite the fact that a legal case appealing the military's decision to
build the wall is still in court. At that time, the construction crew left
an approximately five-meter gap in the wall where the road from Yatta
crosses into At-Tuwani.

At 10:00 a.m. on Thursday 13 July 2006, as she was returning from Yatta,
CPTer Angela Davis observed a flatbed truck accompanied by an Israeli army
jeep. The truck deposited four concrete blocks approximately a meter square
into the gap in the low wall. This action completely blocks vehicle access
to Yatta from the bypass road, and hence from the village of At-Tuwani and
neighboring communities. Davis asked a soldier why they were blocking the
route. "Because there are bad people come through here," he replied. He
also told her that the blocks were permanent. Davis pointed out that it
was possible to walk between the blocks, but he failed to respond.

At 1:00 p.m. a villager informed Davis, Maureen Jack, and Diana Zimmerman
that the Israeli military was present along the bypass road at the
obstructed Palestinian road crossing. The CPTers responded and found two
military vehicles and eight soldiers at the scene. A group of local
villagers, several tractors and a car had gathered behind the road block;
all had arrived from Yatta and could not cross to At-Tuwani. The soldiers
told the villagers that they would have to take a detour of about fifteen
kilometers to Zif where a gate was open and then drive along the Israeli
bypass road to get to At-Tuwani. None of the gathered Palestinians was
willing to use this option because of the risk to their safety. This option
required that they drive past two settlements whose residents frequently
harass Palestinians.

By 4:00 p.m., five army vehicles, two police jeeps, two border police jeeps
and settler security from Ma'on had gathered. Two UN representatives
arrived to monitor the situation. The police demanded the CPTers' passports
and the IDs of some Palestinians. The soldiers declared the area a closed
military zone and said that the relevant documentation would soon be
available.

After a discussion, the villagers decided not to risk arrest. They parked
their vehicles in a field on the north side of the bypass road and
transferred their goods onto donkeys for transportation into At-Tuwani and
surrounding villages.