CPTnet
17 October 2005

At-TUWANI: Settlers attack shepherds from Mufakara

Palestinian shepherds from the village of Mufakara were attacked
outside the illegal Israeli outpost of Havot Ma'on (Hill 833) early
on the morning of 16 October. The shepherds escaped injury from the
armed attackers but one goat was killed and a sheep critically
injured. The attack occurred shortly after sunrise in the area known
as Khoruba, south of the village of At-Tuwani. At about 6:15 a.m.
one of the shepherds contacted Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) about
the incident and asked for help protecting his flock. CPT called the
police and returned with the shepherd to Khoruba.

Matt Chandler and Mike Brown of CPT -- along with shepherds in the
area -- waited for the arrival of Israeli police. The police arrived
around 7:15 a.m. and conducted a brief onsite investigation. One of
the shepherds who was present at the time of the attack went with the
police to their station in Hebron to file a complaint.

Another shepherd reported that while they were grazing their sheep,
three rock-throwing Israeli settlers arrived and pointed their
assault rifles at them, threatening to shoot. The shepherds fled,
and the settlers grabbed a goat and took it with them toward the
outpost. The animal was stabbed several times and its throat slit.
The shepherds found it lying dead on the side of the hill. The sheep
sustained a head injury and a broken leg. It is not expected to live.

The loss of one goat or sheep from a flock of thirty animals has an
enormous economic impact on the lives of families who live in the
South Hebron Hills. They depend upon their flocks for income -- by
selling cheese made from the animals' milk and from selling newborns
in the spring. The local economy is still recovering from the
poisoning of the goats and sheep last spring.

The police have opened an investigation but as of this time CPT has
not received and results of the inquiry.

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Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) seeks to enlist the whole church in
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trained, peacemakers in regions of lethal conflict. Originally a
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