CPT discussed ways to link CPT's Campaign for Secure Dwelling with the World
Council of Churches' Peace in the City campaign.

Two Israeli soldiers came to the door of the CPT apartment. One of them, an
officer, identified himself as Major "Rocky" and explained he is the IDF
military liaison to the TIPH (a group of international observers in Hebron)
and wanted to meet with us about our presence and work.

Tuesday, February 3

The team met with Major Rocky for on hour outside of an Israeli police
station near the Ibrahimi mosque. Major Rocky explained that
sometimes CPT's intervention work is problematic for the IDF. The
team explained about CPT's work in Hebron. It was an "unofficial"
and cordial meeting.

Abed Al Hadi Hantash from the Hebron District Land Defense Committee
gave the following land report from the previous week:

1. On Wednesday, January 28, the Israeli government announced that
they were expanding the Karme Tsur settlement in the northern part of
the Hebron district between Halhul and Beit Ummar. They confiscated
161 dunams of Beit Ummar land, much of it vineyard.

2. On Friday, January 30, the settler named Dov from Ma'on threatened
farmers Mohammed Ahmed Musleh, and Mohammed Khalil No'man and
prevented them from cultivating their land.

3. On Saturday, January 31 the Israeli nature preserve sprayed
chemicals on the lands of families in the western part of the Hebron
district, including 60 dunams of land of the Amru family, 21 dunams of
land of the Harabat family in Sitka village, and around 40 dunams of
land of the Tamazi family west of Idna. According to Abed there is no
reason to spray except to render the land unusable for the families.

4. On Sunday February 1 the Israeli authorities confiscated 1719
dunams of land in Daharia in the southern part of the Hebron district
to enlarge the quarries near the proposed settlement of Tina.

Friday, February 6

Anne Montgomery and Dianne went to Ba'kaa (a fertile valley east of
Hebron where there are many homes with demolition orders) to visit Ata
Jaber and meet his neighbor, Omar, who also has a demolition order.
Omar's son Fahed, father of four has been in Israeli administrative
detention (imprisoned without charges and without trial) since June 3,
1997.

Mark Frey, Sara Reshly, Pierre Shantz, and JoAnne Lingle joined six
internationals in rebuilding a stone wall for a family near Yatta in
the southern part of the Hebron District. The old wall which the
family used to contain their sheep was demolished by the Israel
Defense Force last November.

Saturday, February 7

Dianne and JoAnne went with cartographer Abed Al Hadi Hantash to meet
with the mayor of Beit Ummar to discuss the recent land confiscation
to expand the settlement of Karme Tsur. They went to the site along
with some people from the village and photographed the area.

Dianne and JoAnne then went to visit families in the Beit Za'ata
region of Beit Ummar. They talked with Edna and with Faisa. Mohammed
Hassan Sarbaneh came by and said that his son Hassan was now married.
There is still a work stoppage-demolition order on the house
Hassan was building for his bride so the couple is living with his
father.

JoAnne talked with the older family members who remembered that day
twenty years ago when President Jimmy Carter visited Beit Ummar. A
street in the village was named in his honor. JoAnne will return soon
to Atlanta, Georgia, and wishes to convey greetings from Beit Ummar to
Jimmy Carter.

Anne went to Bethlehem where she observed a confrontation between
Palestinian youth and soldiers at Rachel's tomb in Bethlehem.

Team members said good-bye to CPT friend Hisham Sharibati who left for
a twenty day trip to England, part of an exchange arranged by Bir Zeit
University.