January 5
Throughout the week CPTers helped a Palestinian family build a bathroom and
kitchen. The family has lived without these facilities since 1992, because
they feared building them would draw the Israeli military's attention to the
house, which already has an order for demolition.

January 7
Pierre Shantz observed a blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian male being
taken away by an Israeli military jeep filled with soldiers. He reported
this incident to TIPH (official international observers in Hebron).

January 10
CPTers shared experiences of working in Hebron and gave an educational tour
of the city to a small group from New Zealand and Australia brought by Tom
Getman of World Vision.

CPTers also met with a large group of Jewish Americans who are spending two
weeks in Israel/ Palestine with a Compassionate Listening project.

In the afternoon, Pierre Shantz, Sara Reschly, and Mark Frey visited with two
Palestinian families living on farms about two kilometers from Hebron. Both
families' homes have demolition orders. For the past two nights, the
families' have hosted six American Jews who are participating in the
Compassionate Listening project. The father of the first family stated, "I
never would have believed that Jews
would be staying with us. And last night, one of the Jewish women began to
cry. I was talking about what the soldiers and Jews from the nearby
settlement have done to me and my family."

Also in the afternoon, in the old city of Hebron, Palestinian youth threw
stones at Israeli soldiers, who responded with rubber-coated metal bullets
and tear gas. The newspaper reported that six Palestinians and one Israeli
soldier were injured.

January 12, 1998
Anne Montgomery witnessed two Israeli women settlers physically push and
shove a Palestinian journalist who took their picture. Another near-by
Palestinian journalist began to get out her camera and the settlers
immediately began to attack her. Anne pulled the Palestinian journalist away
to protect her from the pushes and shoves of the settlers.

Later in the day, a Palestinian journalist reported to CPT that
Israeli settlers had thrown snowballs with rocks and pieces of glass in them
at the journalists. One journalist's hand was bloody. The journalist also
stated that a soldier pointed a gun at him and threatened to shoot him
because he was taking pictures.

January 13, 1998
Bruce Yoder and Pierre Shantz spoke to a journalist from the Jerusalem Post
about the work of CPT, the situation in Hebron, and about our relationship
with the Israeli Hebron settlers. The article appeared in the Friday edition
of the Jerusalem Post.

CPTers witnessed four Palestinians being detained. They were forced to stand
with their faces against the wall while the soldiers checked their I.D.'s.
After 15 minutes, they were released. About 500 meters up the road, they
were stopped again at a different checkpoint.

In the late morning, Joanne Lingle and Pierre Shantz witnessed Israeli
soldiers welding shut the entrance to an Arab house while the family was
still inside the house. In the afternoon, CPTers returned to the site to
find the door opened. An international observer stated that the soldiers
returned to cut open the door after realizing they had welded in the
Palestinian family.

January 14, 1998

CPTers observed a minor stone throwing incident in the center of Hebron.
Young Palestinian boys (between 8- 12 yrs) were throwing rocks and shooting
firecrackers at soldiers, who responded with rubber-coated steel bullets.
CPTers witnessed an injured Palestinian boy being carried away by an adult.
Clashes of this nature continued for the next two days.