Village of Tuwani honors recent victim of stabbing March 26 2011

Residents of At-Tuwani held a peaceful vigil on the morning of March 26 to protest the recent stabbing of Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad, a resident of nearby Tuba village. Soldiers responded to the vigil by declaring a closed military zone.

Villagers attempted to erect a small tent in honor of Awad on village land near the illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on, but were prevented from doing so by Israeli soldiers who declared the area a closed military zone. Soldiers ordered Palestinians and internationals out of the area, and forced shepherds who were grazing sheep and goats to leave. Women and children of the village then occupied the area for several hours in defiance of the order to leave.

On March 19, a settler from Havat Ma'on attacked and stabbed Awad on the outskirts of At-Tuwani. Awad was traveling by donkey to the city of Yatta for a medical appointment. A resident of the village saw the attack and ran towards the settler, who ran back into the outpost. Awad was transported to Alia Hospital in Hebron, where he is recovering from stab wounds to his head, arm and chest.

Also on March 26, Israeli soldiers arrested 16 Israeli peace activists from the organization Taayush when they attempted to walk on the road which connects the village of Tuba with Tuwani. Due to settler violence, the road has been inaccessible to Palestinians and internationals since 2003.


[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. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli law.]