TUWANI URGENT ACTION:

Ma'on Settlers Threaten Violence; Israeli Military unwilling to Respond?

On Sunday, 16 October three Israeli settler youths were killed and one was
injured in a drive by shooting on the by-pass road from Hebron to Jerusalem.
All four youth were residents of three different settlements that are
situated in the south Hebron hills, close to the village of At-Tuwani and
several other Palestinian villages. These settlements are home to some of
the most radical, violent settlers in the entire West Bank. The perpetrators
of Sunday's shootings have not been caught, although two different
Palestinian organizations have claimed responsibility. No resident of the
village of At-Tuwani was involved.

The Jewish holiday of Succoth began Monday evening at sundown and in the
preceding days CPTers observed more settlers in the area. On Wednesday
morning, settler security from Ma'on approached CPTers Diana Zimmerman and
Jenny Elliot while they were waiting on a hillside next to Ma'on for the
children from Tuba. Settler security informed CPTers that settlers were
gathering in Ma'on, that settlers were angry and looking for a fight, and
that if CPT didn't leave the hill immediately "there would be violence". The
Israeli military school escort for the children of Tuba ended up being
cancelled. Zimmerman and Elliot returned to the village of At-Tuwani and
informed the villagers about settler security's message.

At sundown Wednesday (about 5:15PM) CPTers spotted at least eight settler
vehicles driving through At-Tuwani and up the hill toward the outpost of
Havot Ma'on (Hill 833). None of the vehicles stopped in At-Tuwani.

At 7:00PM CPT received a phone call from Ta'ayush (an Israeli partner
organization) to report information that the Israeli military gave to a
member of Ta'ayush (this information was also confirmed by the Israeli
organization Machsom Watch). The information was: 1. school security
escorts (provided daily by the Israeli army and police) for the children
from Tuba are suspended indefinitely due to "security reasons"; 2. the
settlers are making plans to come down to At-Tuwani and start trouble this
evening; and 3. there is no way the Israeli army can control the settlers if
settlers instigate violence in the village.CPTers and the villagers of
At-Tuwani ask you to call the following individuals in the Israeli military
to demand that the Israeli military fulfill its obligation to protect all
people under its jurisdiction in the occupied West Bank. Ask them why the
Israeli military made statements that they would do nothing to intervene in
the case of violence against Palestinians. Work your way down the list, some
may turn their phones off or be busy with other calls. Keep trying. Also,
call the Israeli embassy to your country and express your concern that the
Israeli military is unwilling to intervene against settler violence in the
South Hebron Hills.

Major Joseph Leazi, Head of International Organizations for the IDF

cell phone: 011-972-506-234-090

office: 011-972-2-997-7744

2nd Lieutenant Roee Oren, Deputy Head of International Organizations for
the
IDF

cell phone: 011-972-506-234-178

Lieutenant Colonel Alex Rosenzweig, Commander of the District Liaison
Office
of the Hebron District

cell phone: 011-972-506-234-015

Lieutenant Colonel Ofer Mebtal, Head of Liason for the IDF in the Hebron
District

cell phone: 011-972-506-234-017

Lieutenant Moti Stolovitch, Liason for District Coordinating Office
(DCO)
Hebron District

cell phone: 011-972-506-234-161

Israeli Embassy, Ottawa: Phone 613-567-6450 Fax 613-237-8865

Israeli Embassy, Washington, D.C., Defense and Armed Forces Attaché
Tel: (202) 364-5403
Fax: (202) 364-5406
http://www.cpt.org

. Photos of our
projects may be viewed at: <http://www.cpt.org/gallery>
http://www.cpt.org/gallery