CPTnet
21 May 2005

AT-TUWANI UPDATE: 10-16 May 2005

Tuesday, May 10
Reporters from Canadian television interviewed CPTers Chelli Stanley, Janzen
and At-Tuwani villagers.

A group from Eastern Mennonite University toured At-Tuwani. Village women
demonstrated some traditional skills (baking taboun bread, making goats'
cheese, grinding lentils, cross-stitching and making straw bowls.)

Wednesday, May 11
In the morning Israeli police escorted the children from Tuba to school in
At-Tuwani. Police allowed the four smallest children to ride in the police
jeep, but no police walked with the other children.

In the afternoon the Israeli police arrived late to accompany the Tuba
children home. All the children walked, accompanied by two policemen on
foot.

Thursday, May 12
The Israeli army escort for the school children from Tuba arrived over an
hour late in the morning. CPTers had to explain to the soldiers that they
must wait for the children to come to them. The children cannot safely
approach Havat Ma'on (where the escort waits) if the escort is not there
yet.

Janzen, Pleiman, Kristin Anderson and Levin accompanied shepherds in
Jawiyya, on fields owned by Palestinians and claimed by Israeli settlers
from Ma'on.

In the evening six Israeli soldiers entered At-Tuwani village, claiming to
be on a "training exercise". They detained and interrogated one young
Palestinian man.

Friday, May 13
In the afternoon Janzen, Sally Britton, Doug Pritchard and John Lynes
accompanied shepherds near the disputed fields in Jawiyya. An armed Israeli
settler security guard had been harassing Palestinian shepherds there.

Saturday, May 14
Both in the morning and in the afternoon the Israeli military arrived late
to escort the Tuba children to and from school.

Janzen, Britton, Pritchard and Lynes walked to Tuba by the long route. On
their return they learned that over forty Israeli settlers from Ma'on had
attacked Palestinian wheat harvesters and shepherds in Jawiyya. The settler
security guard in his truck prevented the Palestinian wheat harvesters from
leaving the area in their vehicle. Later the same settler security guard
prevented At-Tuwani Palestinians from going over to Jawiyya. Israeli
military and police responded to the Palestinians' phone calls, but were
slow in stopping the settlers from throwing stones at the Palestinians.

Sunday, May 15
Four Israeli settlers from Ma'on chased the Tuba children as the children
approached Havat Ma'on to wait for the military escort to come. The
children returned to Tuba. When the Israeli military arrived the children
were not waiting, and the military left when the children did not come right
away. Janzen called the military insisting the soldiers returned to Tuba to
pick up the children. The children finally arrived at school over
half-an-hour late.

After school patrol Britton and Pritchard examined two burnt stacks of
recently harvested sheep feed in Jawiyya. The two piles represented fifty
dunums of lentils. The Palestinian farmer believed that Israeli settlers
were responsible for the burning.

Britton and Pritchard returned to accompany shepherds again in the disputed
fields in Jawiyya. An armed settler security guard chased Palestinian sheep
away, and told the CPTers that they were 'aiding and abetting criminal
conduct'.

Monday, May 16
CPTers called Israeli troops to remind them that school that day was due to
start early, at 7am.

In the morning Britton, Janzen, Pritchard and Lynes accompanied Palestinian
shepherds in Jawiyya. The settler security guard repeated his warning of
the previous day.

In the afternoon Bill Baldwin, Lynes and two members of Operation Dove
joined the shepherds in Jawiyya. This time the security guard was joined by
the Israeli military and later by an Israeli police van. Soldiers forced
one Palestinian shepherd into the back of a military jeep, but later
released him when Operation Dove members enquired as to what was happening
to the Palestinian.