5 April
During the morning, At-Tuwani shepherds, accompanied by CPTers and members of an Israeli peace organization, took their flocks to graze in a field across highway 317 from the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Ma’on. …

At 2:00 p.m., six settlers approached At-Tuwani from the trees that surround the settlement outpost of Havot Ma’on. Two jeep-loads of soldiers were already present at the scene, as well as Palestinians and CPTers, and many more At-Tuwani villagers soon arrived. In an effort to move the Palestinians and internationals back, the soldiers argued that the area was a closed military zone but refused to show any papers. Instead of moving out of the contested area, the village children began a game of football (soccer), and two At-Tuwani hajjis (matriarchs) sat down on the ground in front of the soldiers, while CPTers filmed. The playful resistance continued for at least half an hour, until At-Tuwani village leaders urged the women and children to move back from the soldiers. The Palestinians did so, and the army left at 3:00 p.m.

“We are surrounded by hostile neighbors.” “ They want to destroy everything that we build.” These are two sentiments we frequently hear expressed in the Kurdish Region of northern Iraq.

PRAYERS FOR PEACEMAKERS, Wed., May 07, 2008

Pray for the Palestinian residents of the south Hebron hills. Israeli settlers have escalated their restriction and harassment of them. This week, settlers assaulted two Palestinians and two accompanying internationals, all of whom needed minor hospital treatment.

Doug Pritchard
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Toronto , Canada

Deadly threats to the security of campesinos living in the Cimitarra Valley continue. They believe the very entities responsible for their safety and protection are promoting rather than preventing their forced displacement in an effort to expropriate their farms and territory.

This weekend, the Team went to Azadi Park, a spot of beauty in the heart of the city, all the more remarkable because it has been reclaimed (can land/space be resurrected? Redeemed, certainly) by the Kurds. It was previously a Ba'athist-only holding adjacent to one of Saddam Hussein's prisons where Kurds were routinely tortured. The prison is now a museum.