CPTnet
3 July 2006

AT-TUWANI UPDATE: 11-17 June 2006

DAILY ROUTINE

Each day the team accompanied local shepherds in nearby areas. Because of
the warmer weather, the shepherds tended to go out in the early morning and
then again in the late afternoon. In addition to members of Operation Dove (
called "Doves"), CPT's partner organization in At-Tuwani, CPT team members
during this period were Angela Davis, Diane Janzen, Heidi Schramm and Diana
Zimmerman.

Sunday 11 June

Janzen, Schramm and a member of Operation Dove spent the night in the
Palestinian village of Susiya. According to residents, earlier that day
Israeli settlers beat two Palestinian youths as they were walking through
the area toward the town of Yatta. Settler security from the Israeli
settlement of Susya also shot a Palestinian man who was in the area. The
residents of the Palestinian village of Susiya feared that settlers would
attack them during the night.

Monday 12 June

Early in the morning, two Doves walked to Humra valley because Palestinians
reported seeing four settlers in the area. When the Doves arrived, an
At-Tuwani shepherd said that the four settlers left when they saw the
internationals approaching. The shepherd also reported that two of the four
settlers wore masks over their faces. A short while later, Israeli soldiers
arrived and declared the area a closed military zone. The Palestinians
moved their sheep to Khoruba, an adjacent valley for the rest of the
morning.

Tuesday 13 June

Zimmerman and a Dove walked about one kilometer west of At-Tuwani along the
Israeli bypass road 317 to observe the construction of the low "security"
wall. They watched the work a few hours before returning to the village.

In the afternoon Janzen and a Dove returned to the road and noted that the
work was less than 300 meters from the point where the Palestinian road to
Yatta crosses route 317.

Wednesday 14 June

In the morning, two Doves accompanied shepherds in Khoruba valley. A settler
security officer from the Ma'on settlement told one of the shepherds he
could not graze his sheep there because it upset the settlers. The shepherd
told the Doves that he would continue to graze his sheep in Khoruba valley
if internationals were present.

John Dugard, a Special Rapporteur from the United Nations Commission on
Human Right, visited the village along with members of UN OCHA (Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). Members of At-Tuwani and
surrounding villages spoke with him about the situation in the South Hebron
Hills.

Zimmerman and a Dove observed the construction of the low "security" wall
along Route 317 as it passed At-Tuwani. (See 20 June CPTnet release:
"Security" wall built along route 317 reaches At-Tuwani.")

In the evening, Zimmerman and a Dove--along with members of the village and
an Israeli activist--drove to Mufakara because an At-Tuwani shepherd
reported that settlers were walking through the village. The group observed
a group of approximately thirty Israeli settlers slowly walking from the
Havot Ma'on
(Hill 833) outpost to the Avigail outpost.

Friday 16 June

Davis, Schramm and a Dove accompanied shepherds in Khoruba valley. After
an hour of grazing, soldiers arrived and threatened to make the area a
closed military zone if the sheep grazed on a hill close to an area claimed
by settlers. The shepherd continued to graze his sheep and the soldiers
observed.

In the evening, the team helped water and tend the olive tree in the garden
that the village dedicated to Tom Fox.

Saturday 17 June

In the morning while accompanying shepherds in Khoruba, Schramm and two
Doves noticed people running from the village of Tuba. They called a friend
who lives in Tuba who said that settlers had just come into the village and
stolen the family donkey. Schramm and a Dove walked to Tuba and remained
with the family until the police arrived, after more than ten phone calls,
to investigate the crime. The police refused to go into the outpost to look
for the stolen donkey.

Soldiers again approached the shepherds grazing in Khoruba and told them
they could not graze their sheep in the area. The team saw the soldiers
speaking with some settlers and settler security before approaching the
flocks. The areas that these soldiers said were closed, were areas that
soldiers of the previous day said were open for Palestinian use. When
questioned about his orders, one of the soldiers said, nodding his head
toward the settlers observing from a hill, "I know they are a little crazy,
but they don't want you here, so you must leave. After all they are still
Israelis." The shepherds decided to leave rather than risk arrest.

In the afternoon, the army and border police set up a checkpoint along 317
outside At-Tuwani. Soldiers and border police officers assaulted one of the
men from the village. The man told the team that he was assaulted when did
not approach the correct soldier. He said the soldiers and border police
said different things to him, and then hit him when he obeyed one over
another.