The Palestinian families of Wadi Nasara--a valley on the outskirts of Hebron next to which the Kiryat Arba settlement has expanded--have had to put up with increasing amounts of settler harassment over the years. But in March 2007, when Israeli settlers occupied a Palestinian building across the road bordering Wadi Nasara, families in the valley began facing attacks from two sides.

The homes of Abu Talib* families lie literally within a stone's throw of Kiryat Arba. The eighty people (including fifty children) living there face almost daily harassment from neighboring settlers. On 6-7 June 2008, settler youth entered the families' property and smashed large rocks against the Abu Talib's rooftops, seriously damaging ceilings in two homes, and a solar water-heating panel on another. When CPTers David Martin and Kathleen Kern visited the area the following week, M. Abu Talib* told them, "They have thrown stones at us for years. They even attacked Israeli peacemakers who visited our homes. But when they set our home on fire a year ago, we knew we needed to seek the help of international peacemakers in the area." CPT has since begun daily patrols in the area, along with two other international groups working in Hebron.

On 13 June 2008, a group of eight to ten settlers from the "Occupied House," as local Palestinians refer to it, crossed the road and entered the home of a multi-family dwelling. They shouted threats and attempted to attack people; however, members of the extended Al-Ja'aberi family managed to push them out. Settlers also regularly throw trash in the families' yards and "target" the homes with red laser sightings. When asked whether they called the police during altercations, H.* Al-Ja'aberi, the father of one of the families, told Martin, Kern, and Marius Van Hoogstraten that the police and army always sided with the settlers.

"If I am in the yard, settlers will walk by without looking, but if only children are out, they will attack them," he told the CPTers.

"The kids grow up thinking everyone is equal," al-Ja'abari continued. "My son doesn't know there's an occupation. If he is hit by a settler, he thinks it's okay to hit back." Children learn however, that when Palestinians respond in kind to settler assaults, the Israeli authorities will arrest them and not the Israelis.

On top of the additional violence and persecution that the Occupied House has brought to the people of Wadi Nasara, the Israeli military apparatus protecting settlers living in the house has caused significant hardship. A checkpoint now forces H. al-Ja'abari's family to walk 600 meters down a treacherous, winding path to gain access to a car (The main paved road in the area runs right by the family's house, but the Israeli army permits only settlers to use it.) He was forced to take this path after undergoing abdominal surgery; the Israeli military would not allow the ambulance to take him home. "Even if I were dying, I would have to walk," al-Ja'abari said.

*Names have been changed to protect individuals.