CPTnet
December 3, 2004

HEBRON UPDATE: November 18-28, 2004

Saturday, November 20, 2004
In the morning, Diane Roe encountered Israeli soldiers ordering shopowners
to closed their shops, because, a soldier told her, it was a "special" day
for the settlers. So, the soldiers said, they were shutting the stores down
to "protect the Palestinians."

At noon, while observing soldiers at the Beit Romano checkpoint and keeping
a record of detentions, Dianne Janzen, Luann Brooker, and Roe were
questioned by a soldier about what they were doing. He then took their tally
sheet, examined it, and refused to give it back. After a half hour of the
CPTers conducting the watch, the soldiers ordered the CPTers to leave the
checkpoint area, which they did.

 In the afternoon ,Diane Janzen, Bob Gross, Roe, and a Palestinian
translator, made a visit to a CSD (Campaign for Safe Dwellings) family in
the Jabal Johar neighborhood. The home is situated along "Worshippers Way,"
the path Kiryat Arba settlers walk to and from Abraham's Tomb. But because
settlers were on the march, soldiers would not allow the CPTers to take the
most direct route to the home, which is alongside Worshippers Way. As they
tried to get to the home via other streets, all of which are inside section
of Hebron known as H2, soldiers still kept diverting them, because, they
told the CPTers, the streets they wanted to use were closed. After soldiers
repeatedly advised them to find another way and after several additional
delays of the team trying to do so, they finally reached their destination.

When they arrived, they learned that other Israeli soldiers had commandeered
another Jabal Johar house and were using the roof as a lookout to protect
settlers walking up or down Worshippers Way. A Palestinian complained that
one of the soldiers had shot a hole in a water pipe. Later the CPT group
observed about eight or nine settler children in Kiryat Arba throwing stones
down onto the roofs of Palestinian houses just down the slope leading from
the settlement to Palestinian homes lining Worshippers Way.

 Monday November 22, 2004
Roe and Brooker encountered an elderly Palestinian man in the Old City who
called out to them, "American peacemakers. We want to thank you. We are
happy you are with us and the people in Tuwani.

Tuesday November 23, 2004
An overnight visitor to CPT left his luggage on the patio outside the
apartment for a few minutes. When he came out a few moments later, he found
it had been ransacked and all his money stolen. (The team suspected some
neighborhood children sneaked up the apartment steps and took it while
everyone was inside.)

Wednesday, November 24, 2004
In the evening Kristin Anderson, Roe, Janzen, and Levin experienced the
latest in population attrition from the Old City when they visited long time
friends, who live next to the market plaza nearest the CPT apartment. They
learned that the family, which has lived in the apartment for generations,
will--in a month--be moving out of the Old City into the
Palestinian-administered area of Hebron known as H1.

 Thursday November 25, 2004
Israeli soldiers gave Levin, leading a tour, permission to guide it up
Shuhada Street all the way to Tel Rumeida. But before soldiers would let
Levin's group and a busload of Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without
Borders) workers pass through their checkpoint, they made them wait while a
group of about thirty Israelis, also on tour and guarded by military jeeps
and soldiers on foot, pass through the checkpoint first.

 Later, soldiers allowed Roe, Janzen, and Anderson to pass through the
Duboyya Street checkpoint to visit long time friends living next to Tel
Rumeida

Saturday November 27, 2004
At about 8:30 in the morning, Anderson, Brooker, and Janzen, responding to a
call from a Hebron University official, went there and observed two
jeeploads of Israeli soldiers detaining long lines of young men and checking
their IDs. A university official told them that the check was a regular
practice of the military. He said male students were often late to class
because of the detentions and ID checks.

 In the afternoon, Anderson and Janzen observed Israeli soldiers escorting
settlers through the old city. Several settlers passing by the two CPTers
said "Motherf---ers go home." Then, as the settlers were leaving the Old
City, the team observed them knocking over four large bags of olives. The
contents, which spilled onto the street, were ruined by subsequent foot
traffic. Anderson asked an Israeli soldier, why he stood by and let the
settlers commit such acts of vandalism. He replied, "I know it's wrong, but
there is nothing I can do."