CPTnet
9 May 2008
AT-TUWANI UPDATE: 27 March-20 April 2008

[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal.]

Serving on team during this period were CPTers Jan Benvie, Laura Ciaghi, Cassandra Dixon, Jessica Frederick, Jill Granberg, Joshua Hough, Maureen Jack, Sarah MacDonald and members of Operation Dove (Doves).

SUMMARY
During recent weeks, Palestinians of At-Tuwani and the surrounding area have organized and carried out a series of nonviolent actions asserting their rights to graze and harvest on their own land. Nearly every action followed at least one specific instance of violence or harassment from settlers residing in nearby illegal Israeli settlements and outposts. Further, every action was disrupted in some fashion by the presence of settlers, Israeli military, and often police. Despite these disruptions, however, the soldiers have not been declaring areas “closed military zones” as frequently as they were earlier this year, and in recent actions, Palestinians have been able to continue grazing and harvesting on their land.


27 March
On 26 March 2008, Israeli settlers from the settlement outpost of Havot Ma’on fired five shots into a Palestinian flock grazing in Khoruba valley and hit three animals. The following day, shepherds from At-Tuwani and the neighboring villages of Tuba, Maghayir al Abeed and Mufakara chose to graze again in the same area. At least seventeen shepherds with a couple hundred sheep and goats grazed in Khoruba and the next valley, Meshaha. Two jeep-loads of Israeli soldiers came to Meshaha but did not prevent the sheep from grazing or force the Palestinians to leave the valley. The morning ended with shepherds, villagers, and internationals celebrating on the top of Khoruba hill.

5 April
During the morning, At-Tuwani shepherds, accompanied by CPTers and members of an Israeli peace organization, took their flocks to graze in a field across highway 317 from the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Ma’on.

Settlers, including the Ma’on security agent, approached the field mid-morning, and moments later border police and army arrived. The security agent showed maps to the soldiers and police. One of the Israeli activists said the settler was trying to convince the authorities that the land on which the Palestinians were grazing belonged to Ma’on. However, the soldiers did not ask any Palestinians or international accompaniers to leave.

At 2:00 p.m., six settlers approached At-Tuwani from the trees that surround the settlement outpost of Havot Ma’on. Two jeep-loads of soldiers were already present at the scene, as well as Palestinians and CPTers, and many more At-Tuwani villagers soon arrived. In an effort to move the Palestinians and internationals back, the soldiers argued that the area was a closed military zone but refused to show any papers. Instead of moving out of the contested area, the village children began a game of football (soccer), and two At-Tuwani hajjis (matriarchs) sat down on the ground in front of the soldiers, while CPTers filmed. The playful resistance continued for at least half an hour, until At-Tuwani village leaders urged the women and children to move back from the soldiers. The Palestinians did so, and the army left at 3:00 p.m.

12 April
MacDonald and two Doves joined other internationals and Israelis in attending an action at the Bedouin village of Um Al Kher, where settlers from the adjacent Israeli settlement of Karmel have harassed the Palestinian shepherds, preventing them from grazing and watering their sheep. During the Saturday action, internationals and Israelis stood between the Palestinian shepherds with their flocks and a recently constructed extension of Karmel, built on Palestinian-owned land.

Although the Palestinian landowner showed documents proving his legal right of title to the land, the Israeli military personnel present forced the supporters to move some distance from the settlement. A border police officer shoved one of the Doves and took out handcuffs in a gesture to threaten arrest. The action ended around 1:00 p.m.

18 April
Granberg, Jack and two Doves went to a Palestinian field near the settlement of Avigail to accompany the owner and his family as they harvested lentils. At 10:00 a.m., a settler and an Israeli army jeep arrived. The settler took photos and appeared to be giving the soldiers orders. Police and the DCO (District Coordination Office) also arrived and checked ID’s but did not require anyone to leave. The Palestinians and internationals continued to harvest until 5:30 p.m. During the remainder of the day, they were disrupted once more by a photograph-snapping settler and twice more by soldiers demanding to see IDs. That evening the team learned of an action happening following day in the same field near Avigail.

19 April
Jack and MacDonald attended the action in the field near Avigail, where two Palestinian families were harvesting while several shepherds grazed their flocks. Soon members of an Israeli peace organization joined the action. At 9:55 a.m., one of the settlers from the previous day arrived with a video camera, at the same time as an army jeep pulled up. The Palestinians did not want the settler to film, so the internationals and Israelis attempted to intervene. The settler left when his tape ran out, then returned with two women, who also had cameras. A Palestinian again asked Jack to prevent the filming, so she persistently stood in front of the camera lens. At this point, five more military and police vehicles arrived. Much discussion ensued between the soldiers, police, DCO, and the three settlers. The Palestinians continued to harvest crops and graze sheep throughout, and by the time the activities stopped for lunch at 12:30 p.m., all but one army jeep had left.

In the afternoon, two Doves accompanied a Mufakara shepherd in the same area. For the first hour, Israeli military personnel allowed the flock to graze up to the “line” drawn on the field the day before. At one point, eight soldiers formed a blockade with their bodies to prevent the sheep from moving forward. But the Palestinian was able to graze his flock in the rest of the field and in a valley across the road.

20 April
In the morning and the afternoon, Doves and CPTers returned to these fields near Avigail to accompany the same shepherd from Mufakara. Soldiers and settlers sometimes appeared in the distance, but did not approach close or disrupt the grazing. Late in the afternoon, the internationals were delighted to see a newly born baby goat.