CPTnet
16 September 2006

HEBRON UPDATE: 2 -8 September 2006

During this period the Hebron Team comprised Christina Gibb, John Lynes and
Char Smith.

Saturday 2 September

The school term was supposed to have started on this day, but teachers, who
had not been paid since February 2006, were on strike. As the rest of the
team were unwell, John Lynes patrolled alone in lower Shuhada Street. A
soldier warned him that he would be arrested unless he left the area. He
refused to leave and was not arrested. The military stopped all young
Palestinian adults, including teachers, for ID checks at a new checkpoint in
Shuhada Street. Due to the teachers' strike, the teachers sent all the boys
home from the Ibrahimi Boys' School. The soldiers would not allow
Palestinian adults to enter the Old City through houses along Shuhada
Street, but forced them to go through the two checkpoints by the Ibrahimi
Mosque.

In the afternoon, Lynes tried to walk the length of Shuhada Street alone
from south to north, but Israeli settler youths attacked. Israeli soldiers
refused to allow him to proceed, saying it would be too dangerous. The
officer said that neither TIPH nor CPT were allowed to pass in front of Beit
Hadassah, but he offered Lynes a military escort to the Old City via Beit
Romano. Lynes declined the offer but walked round the back of Qurtuba
School to reach Duboyya Street.

Sunday 3 September

Lynes and Char Smith did a school patrol. Most children, but few teachers,
went to school. So far as Lynes and Smith could tell, the children all left
school within an hour.

An IDF sergeant told them that TIPH is allowed to walk along Shuhada Street,
but not CPT.

During the afternoon Lynes and Smith noticed an IDF squad entering a
Palestinian home close to the Israeli settlement of Avraham Avinu. At first
the CPTers were forced to stay outside. Later they managed to enter and
found that the Israeli soldiers had climbed onto the roof and were moving
across rooftops to the north east. Despite threats and warnings, Lynes took
photographs of the soldiers clambering from roof to roof.

Monday 4 September

Lynes and Smith did school patrol. Despite a newspaper report that some
Palestinian children had been intimidated into not attending school during
the teachers' strike, there was no sign of such intimidation in Hebron. The
strike seemed fairly solid, and the children still flocked to the schools.
Lynes and Smith reentered the Old City through Gate 5 with no trouble,
although the Israeli military had previously forbidden the use of this
route.

During the afternoon, Lynes led two visiting journalists, one from England
and one from Sweden, to Tel Rumeida. There they encountered a broadcaster
from the BBC. A Palestinian invited them all into his home where they saw
some short videos of the conditions under which Palestinians close to the
Israeli settlement live.

Tuesday 5 September

Lynes and Smith did school patrol. The Israeli military seemed relaxed.

Wednesday 6 September

Lynes and Smith did school patrol. In the afternoon they walked the length
of Shuhada Street without interference despite the earlier warning (See
above under 3 September.)

Christina Gibb went to Jerusalem representing CPT for the Supreme Court
hearing of Mordecai Vanunu's appeal against the restrictions imposed on him
by the Israeli Court since his release from prison two years previously.
She joined Mordecai, his brother Meir, Gideon Spiro (the long term organizer
of the Campaign for Justice for Vanunu), and Mairead Corrigan McGuire (Irish
Nobel Peace Prize winner, friend and supporter of Vanunu) and his lawyers in
a long wait for the case to be called.

Meanwhile a Hamas Hebron parliamentarian had his appeal against his
administrative detention turned down summarily, after a closed session
between the three judges and the Security representatives. The Court found
no grounds for overruling the lower court decision.

After lunch, Advocate Feldman argued Vanunu's case. The two lawyers and the
presiding judge engaged in a considerable discussion on whether the Defense
could hear the Security evidence against Vanunu. The judge ruled that the
Security people must get an order from a higher authority. She then deferred
the case for forty-five days. She also said that two years since his release
was not an excessive period for restrictions. Feldman said he did not
think the court will lift the restrictions.

Thursday 7 September

Gibb and Lynes went on school patrol.

All seven state schools on CPT's patrol route were open. Three had few
pupils, and the CPTers saw no staff. The other four had many students
arriving, and some teachers were holding classes. Many pupils left within
an hour.

The UNWRA Basic Boys' School and a small private school, whose teachers had
received regular wages, were unaffected by the strike.

A former principal of Al Ibrahimmiyye Boys' School (now principal of a
different school) called Gibb over, recognizing her CPT cap. He said he had
been the first principal to call CPT to ask for their help in getting the
children to school safely, several years ago. He said the situation was
very bad: "They tell us to be patient, but where does that get us? It does
not put food on the table. It is now seven months with no pay. What are we
supposed to do? I have four children at University--two boys and two girls.
This costs a lot of money." Gibb asked him if he saw an end to the present
situation. He said he hoped for a resolution within two weeks.

In the afternoon, Gibb and Lynes walked the whole length of Shuhada Street
without interference.

Friday 8 September

The team returned from a meeting in At-Tuwani in time for a patrol after
noon prayers in the Ibrahimi Mosque. The Israeli Border Police detained few
Palestinians.

A Palestinian neighbor reported that her nineteen-year old nephew had been
detained on the previous day at the Yatta Road checkpoint. He had just
bought a secondhand computer monitor, which he was taking home. The soldier
said it was an army one, and accused him of stealing it. He told the young
man's father he would have to pay 1000 shekels for his release. The
shopkeeper who had sold the monitor took full documentation of where he had
bought it to the police, who promptly detained him, too, on the same terms.
The local representative of B'tselem, the Israeli human rights organization,
said that the incident was the fi