CPTnet
November 24, 2001
Hebron Update: October 29-November 4, 2001

Monday, October 29 -- No Curfew
CPTers Mary Lawrence and JoAnne Lingle responded to an 8:00 a.m. call from
the headmistress of Qurtuba girls' school saying that settler youth were
throwing
stones at teachers. When they arrived at the school, all was quiet.

A 13-member delegation jointly sponsored by CPT and Presbyterian Peace
Fellowship arrived in Hebron.

Tuesday, October 30 No Curfew
Lawrence and several delegates accompanied students and teachers to Qurtuba
girls' school. While they were there, a teacher was hit by two stones
thrown by a settler boy.

Campaign for Secure Dwellings coordinator Rich Meyer spent the night with
families in Al Sendas and reported that construction
on the school at Qilkis, which had been delayed by stop-work orders for
three
years, is continuing. The first floor exterior is complete and work is
being done inside.

Wednesday, October 31 No Curfew
The team received word that a Palestinian had been assassinated in his home
in area H1, the Palestinian Authority-controlled section of Hebron, by a
shot fired from an Israeli military helicopter.

In the morning, CPTers and members of the visiting delegation accompanied
students and teachers to the boys' school near Ibrahimi mosque and to
Qurtuba girls' school. At a military checkpoint near the girls' school, the
group was asked to show their passports. One delegate did not have his
visa with him and the soldier who was examining the identification would
not let him pass. Two delegates returned to the team apartment to retrieve
the visa and the group was allowed to continue on. They visited briefly
with the headmistress at the school and returned to the team apartment by
another route.

CPTer Meyer and two delegates, accompanied by the team's translator, were
walking past Avraham Avinu about 4:30 p.m. when an Israeli settler boy,
about 9 years old, began to throw stones at them from a distance of about 15
or 20 feet. Six or seven settler men were with him. There were also a
police jeep present and two soldiers at the nearby military checkpoint.

A young Palestinian man, about 17-20 years old, was walking behind the
CPTers. As the CPTers passed, the boy turned his attention to the
Palestinian man, and threw several stones at him. Two of the settler
adults began to move towards the boy and the Palestinian. The Palestinian
man picked up a stone and immediately the young settler men ran toward
him. He dropped the rock. One of the settlers lunged at the Palestinian
and began to kick him in the thighs and buttocks. They hit him several times
in the head.

The Palestinian began to push his attackers away, and other settlers joined
in hitting him. Other men and women came running from Avraham Avinu to
observe the incident. The team's translator demanded that the police do
something. One of the officers crossed the street and told the settlers to
stop hitting the Palestinian. Two soldiers followed him. A settler shoved
the Palestinian against a parked car, and by then more than a dozen
settlers were involved in the incident. The police and soldiers forced the
settlers back and the Palestinian walked away, catching up with the CPTers
as they also left the scene. The young settler boy
followed for a block, still throwing stones at them. When no other settlers
followed, the boy quit the stone-throwing.

Wednesday evening, delegates and CPTers spent the night with Palestinian
families in Beit Ummar, the Beqa'a Valley, and the Al Sendas areas near
Hebron. The group visiting in the Beqa'a assisted Atta Jaber with moving
stones from his roof in preparation for construction of the front stoop on
his recently rebuilt house. The group visiting Al Sendas saw a military
post on top of the Al Sendas mountain which residents said had just been
installed that week. They saw a tank and machine guns there.

Thursday, November 1 No Curfew
Delegates and CPTer Lingle who stayed the night in Beit Ummar were welcomed
by teachers at an elementary school there. They visited classrooms and
watched a musical performance by a group of young girls.

About 5:20 p.m. the team received a call that Israeli settlers had taken
over a Palestinian house near Avraham Avinu. Three CPTers and four
delegates went to investigate. All was quiet when they arrived. However,
they saw a lock plate and bolt on the ground near the door of the house,
which was slightly ajar. A young Palestinian man who was being detained at
the nearby military checkpoint mentioned that he had seen settler youth
going into the house and coming out again.

The Palestinian had been detained for an ID check for 2 and 1/2 hours. When
CPTer
Meyer inquired about the situation, the soldiers said they were working on
it. Six other soldiers arrived at the checkpoint. Within about 15 minutes
the young man was released and told to report to the police station the
following Tuesday.

Friday, November 2 -- Curfew at 6 p.m.
CPTer Lawrence encountered members of the Temporary International Presence
in Hebron (TIPH) near Ibrahimi Mosque. She saw the damage -- including a
dented window and door on their bullet-proof jeep which TIPH members said
had been stoned by settlers.

CPTers received a call that curfew had been imposed at 6 p.m. Members of
the team had heard a few gunshots at 10 a.m. and again in the afternoon but
did not know why curfew had been called.

Saturday, November 3 -- Curfew cancelled by 7:45 a.m.

Settler teenaged girls threw stones at CPTer Fast and a Palestinian friend
as they were walking on Shuhada street about 2 p.m. Later, settler boys
about 10 or 11 years old threw a plastic pipe, which broke at the feet of
the two and another Palestinian woman who had joined them.

Sunday, November 4 No curfew.
CPTers traveling to Jerusalem to church experienced checkpoint delays of up
to 20 minutes.