CPTnet
29 December 2005

AT-TUWANI UPDATE: 27 November-10 December 2005

Sunday 27 November

During the morning, CPTers Diane Janzen and Kristin Anderson and two
Operation Dove members (Doves) accompanied Palestinian farmers plowing and
planting by Sarura (an abandoned Palestinian village close to Havot Ma'on
/ Hill 833.)

The internationals also took turns waiting with a Mufakara farmer on his
land near the settlement outpost of Avigail for a 10 a.m. meeting with the
Israeli military District Coordinating Office (DCO.) On Friday 25
November, a DCO officer had promised he would attend meeting to discuss
land ownership claims.

During the morning while the Palestinians waited, the Israeli military,
two settler security persons and a settler on a tractor came and went from
the area.

After waiting for two hours, the Palestinians decided to start plowing the
land and at 1:30 p.m., the DCO finally arrived with an Israeli police
jeep. The DCO officer, one Palestinian man and the settler security men
looked at and discussed the maps the DCO officer brought.

The DCO officer spoke with additional Palestinian landowners about other
nearby parts of land, saying that it was illegal for them to work the tops
of the mountains. The officer told the Mufakara famer to come to the DCO
office at 9 a.m. on 28 November for the meeting that was to have happened
that day.

Monday 28 November

At 7:30 a.m., Anderson and Janzen went to monitor an Israeli military
checkpoint setup on the Palestinian road between Karmil and At-Tuwani. The
soldiers (without a military vehicle) were only stopping and checking the
ID's and vehicles of Palestinians traveling into Karmil and not the other
direction. Shortly after 9:00 a.m., an Israeli military hummer came and
the soldiers left the area.

The Doves accompanied a Palestinian farmer plowing and planting near Sarura.

Janzen and Anderson stayed in At-Tuwani with a family who were waiting for
the Israeli military to come and go with them to their land in Khoruba to
plow and plant. The family has an Israeli court order establishing their
right to work the land, but the Israeli military had asked the
Palestinians to coordinate with them before going to the land (otherwise
the military could not guarantee protection from Israeli settler attacks.)
  The Palestinians had arranged with the DCO to go with them at 10 a.m. to
the fields. After waiting an hour and a half, and speaking with an
officer from the DCO several times, the Palestinians finally told the
officer that they had waited long enough and were going to the land.

The CPTers accompanied the Palestinians to the land, and the Doves joined
them there. Israeli settlers and settler security watched the
Palestinians, and after forty-five minutes, the Israeli military came and
told the Palestinians to stop working until a DCO officer arrived with
maps showing land ownership.

A second group of soldiers arrived, aggressively telling the Palestinians
to move further away from the field. They shoved and pushed the
internationals, detaining one and confiscating two digital cameras and one
video camera. After one hour, the soldiers released the international and
returned the cameras. The military commander for the region came and said
there was an order on the way that was going to close the area, but the
order still had not arrived when the Palestinians and internationals left
the area one and a half hours later. (See 30 November CPTnet release,
"Israeli soldiers stop villagers from plowing, assault internationals.")

The first group of soldiers was supposed to accompany the children from
Tuba home after school, and they refused to do so even after the second
group of soldiers had arrived. The soldiers did not go to accompany the
Tuba children home until 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday 29 November

Janzen, Anderson and two Doves filed complaints at the Kiryat Arba Police
station about the soldiers' abuse on previous day. They were at the back
entrance of the police station at their appointment time of 10:00 a.m.,
and waited one hour before someone unlocked the gate to let them enter,
and another hour inside before being able to start filing complaints. The
four all made statements and left at 4:15 p.m.

Wednesday 30 November

At 9:30 a.m., Amy Knickrehm, Jenny Elliott, and two Doves went to Khoruba
to follow up on a report that settlers had plowed on Palestinian land.

Israeli military helicopters landed on the hill near Khoruba.

Thursday 1 December

At 2:30 p.m. two officers from the DCO came to talk with a man from
At-Tuwani about his land, but they refused to let the internationals film
the meeting. The DCO officers confirmed that the Palestinians owned the
land, according to an Israeli court order, and that the Palestinians had
the right to access the land.

Friday 2 December

A man from Jinba came to visit the internationals and told about a 30
November meeting with the DCO about the Separation/Annexation Wall. He
had a map showing land confiscation orders near Jinba. Some of the parts
of the wall are on the Green line, but near Jinba the Wall cuts two km
inside the West Bank. The landowners had seven days to collect
information before appearing in court to protest the confiscation orders.
An area lawyer is working on the land confiscation order cases.

The village had a demonstration in support of CPT's work in Palestine and
Iraq and called for the Iraqi kidnappers to release the CPTers in Iraq.
(See 5 December CPTnet release, "Palestinians gather in support of CPT,
ask for release of CPTers held in Iraq.")

Saturday 3 December

A Dove traveling to At-Tuwani came to an Israeli military checkpoint set
up on the road to Yatta. The army was stopping cars, checking ID's and
children's backpacks. Art Gish and one another Dove walked down to the
checkpoint; the army left after fifteen minutes.

Sunday 4 December

In the morning, two Doves walked to Mufakara where two settlers were
grazing a large flock of goats on the hill very close to the village. Ten
minutes after the Doves arrived, the settlers moved their flocks toward
Avigail.

At 7:45 a.m., Gish and Janzen respond to a problem on bypass road 317.
Israeli soldiers had taken the Palestinian man from Suseya that drives
Suseya schoolchildren to and from school in At-Tuwani. When the
internationals got to the road, the soldiers and man had already left,
leaving