CPTnet
11 December 2007
AT-TUWANI UPDATE: November 2007

Every school day, the team monitored the Israeli army escort of children
coming to and going from the At-Tuwani school. The team accompanied
Palestinian shepherds and farmers plowing and sowing, in fields near the
Israeli settlement of Ma'on and the settler outpost of Havat Ma'on. They
also accompanied Palestinians picking olives. The team monitored several
temporary Israeli military checkpoints beside Road 317 that restrict
movement on the Palestinian road leading from At-Tuwani north to Yatta.

On team during this period were Jan Benvie, Laura Ciaghi, Joy Ellison, Lorne
Friesen, Art Gish, Eileen Hanson, Bob Holmes, Rich Meyer, Sean O'Neill, and
Jonathon Stucky.

Friday, 2 November

The team marked All Souls Day by spending time in silence (Quaker style) at
the olive tree planted in memory of CPTer Tom Fox (killed in Iraq 9 March
2006).

Women from the Israeli group Ta'ayush visited the village to meet with
Palestinian women. They reported that they had observed an Israeli soldier
and settler harassing a Palestinian shepherd near Road 317; the soldier had
pointed his gun at the shepherd.

Saturday 3 November

At around 3:30 p.m. Hanson saw an army jeep drive through Tuwani and stop
just beyond the village, near the Humra valley. Hanson and Hough spoke with
the soldiers, who advised the CPTers that they were there to provide
security for the olive harvest. The soldiers left the area when the family
had finished their harvest and returned home.

Wednesday November 7

The Israeli army erected a guardrail along Road 317. Initially, the team
was concerned that the rail would have the same effect as the low wall
recently removed following an Israeli court ruling (See 20 August CPTnet
release, "AT-TUWANI: "Security" wall along Route 317 dismantled.) However,
the guardrail only covers a short area, and does not completely block access
across Road 317.

Friday, 9 November 2007

The team, along with other internationals and Israelis from Rabbis for Human
Rights, accompanied farmers plowing and sowing near Tuba.

Saturday, 10 November 2007

Shepherds from Tuba, the site of the plowing action the previous day,
reported that a group of Israeli settlers had chased them off their land.
The Palestinians believed the settlers were retaliating for the previous
day's action when the Palestinians were able to work their land with Israeli
military protection. CPTers walked over to Khoruba hill to view the area,
but did not see any settlers.

Monday, 12 November 2007

The team was awakened at 4:00 a.m. by the loudspeakers of the mosque
announcing that a twelve-year-old girl from the village had died. Because
no health care is available in the village, her family drove her to a
hospital in Yatta, a thirty-minute drive along poorly maintained roads.
They initially went to one inadequately equipped hospital, and then to
another, but by the time they reached the second hospital she had died.
Palestinian hospitals and roads, like the rest of the public infrastructure,
are in poor condition after forty years of Israeli military occupation. The
already impoverished conditions were worsened by the financial boycott,
imposed by the international community, on the Palestinian territories
following the democratic election of a Hamas government in 2006. Most of
the financial aid given recently to the Fatah government has been for the
security forces of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Ciaghi and Ellison visited with the women of the family and Hough with the
men. They expressed their grief and sorrow at the death of one so young.
Because the whole village was in mourning, the school closed for the day.

Tuesday, 13 November 2007

The army escort did not come for the children in the morning. The children
waited for over one and a half hours, then walked by themselves to school.
They did not walk the short route (that they walk with the army escort) for
fear of attack by settlers. CPTers accompanied them on a longer route.

Meyer and Stucky visited the men's mourning tent to pay their respects to
the dead girl's family. Ciaghi and Hanson visited the women of the family.

Thursday, 15 November 2007

Ciaghi, Hanson, and Stucky went to observe and monitor Palestinians plowing
the Qawawis/Susiya area, south of At-Tuwani, near the Israeli settlement of
Beit Yattir. Many of the families have left their homes because of
harassment from Israeli settlers and now live in the nearby city of Yatta.
However, they still work their land. The Palestinians had coordinated their
plowing work with the DCO--the branch of the Israeli military that deals
with Palestinian civilian matters. (See 19 November 2007 CPTnet release,
"Israeli military and police intervene to prevent settlers from interfering
with Palestinian plowing.")

Wednesday, 21 November 2007

When the army arrived for school escort in the afternoon, they were rude and
impatient with Ellison because the children were not there. After a short
time, the children came and the soldiers left with them.

Friday, 23 November 2007

Benvie, Ellison, and Stucky went with an At-Tuwani family as they plowed and
sowed their fields just below the Havat Ma'on outpost. Settlers from the
outpost claimed that the Palestinians were on their land and called the
Israeli police. The Israeli army and police came and stopped the
Palestinians from working (although not before the farmers had almost
completed their work). They took four Palestinians and CPTer Stucky to
Kiryat Arba police station for questioning. On the way, the police asked
Stucky to sign a paper in Hebrew, and told him that he would not have to go
to the police station if he did so. Stucky explained that he could not read
Hebrew and could not therefore sign the paper. All the men were held at the
police station for almost four hours; during this time, only one Palestinian
was questioned. They were all then released without charge.

Saturday 24 November 2007

The team attended a meeting with Palestinians and Israelis to discuss a
solidarity walk to the nearby village of Tuba, on 1 December. The Israeli
settlers of Ma'on and Havat Ma'on have attacked Palestinians using the
direct road from Tuba to At-Tuwani. The Palestinians now have to use a much
longer route. The settlers also attack and harass the Tuba villagers in
their homes and fields.

Monday 26 November 2007

The Israeli army del