CPTnet
23 April 1998
HEBRON URGENT ACTION: STOP THE VIOLENCE AGAINST PALESTINIAN FAMILIES
IN THE YATTA AREA

Following the incident on Sunday morning, April 19 (see release), in
which settler Dov Dribin was killed in a scuffle with Palestinian
shepherds, Israeli security forces and area settlers have increased
their harassment of families living in areas near the settlements of
Maon, Karmel, and Sussia. Although all agree that Dribin and the
settlers with him were armed and that the Palestinians were not, there
are conflicting reports as to whether Dribin was accidentally shot by
another settler or whether the Palestinian with whom he was scuffling
seized his gun and shot him with it. The Israeli police have not
named a suspect.

Nevertheless, as the CPT team and Abdel Hadi Hantash of the Land
Defense Committee learned in a visit to the area on Thursday, April
23, since Monday the Israeli army has been conducting night raids on
families' homes, saying that they are looking for men-in-hiding. To
date, the army has arrested 38 men. Soldiers told one family they
would release the two men they arrested, ages 48 and 35, if the family
would tell them where suspects are hiding. The army provided no
names; nor is the family aware of anyone who is hiding. Soldiers have
ransacked the tents, searched the children, and taken pregnant women
away for interrogation. A soldier told one of the women to go ahead
and give birth in the army jeep. Soldiers approached shepherds in the
fields and demanded to see their I.D.s, then confiscated them.

Unknown people firebombed 5 Palestinian tents in the area near Maon at
3:00 am Monday morning. The team was told that an hour before it
arrived a settler had driven his car into the car of a family from
Yatta.

The Palestinian families told the team of their fears that soldiers
will come again in the night and that settlers will commit further
acts of violence. The area is isolated, the population spread out and
easily cut off. Most families do not have telephones. They are
extremely vulnerable and no one is there to address their security
needs.

CPT asks that:
1. The Israeli military immediately cease raiding and ransacking
Palestinian family homes and stop indiscriminately arresting
Palestinian men in the area.
2. The Israeli army respect the land titles of the residents and
orders of the Israeli High Court which has ruled that families have
a right to stay in the area.
3. The international community provide a human rights monitoring
presence to ensure the security of Palestinian families living in the
area.

ADDRESSES: Please contact appropriate addresses below.

US Government Officials:

President, Bill Clinton, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington DC 20500
e-mail: president [at] whitehouse [dot] gov Tel. 202-456-1414

US Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, 2201 C St. NW, Washington DC
20520 (State Dept. Tel switchboard 202-647-4000) fax: 202-736 4461;
e-mail: secretary [at] state [dot] gov

US Ambassador to Israel, Edward Walker: fax: 202-736-4461, attn: Trish
Costilancik

Canadian Government Officials:

The Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Foreign Affairs; House of Commons
(no postage necessary); Ottawa ON K1A 0A6; tel: 613-995-1851; fax:
613-996-3443; e-mail: axworl [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca

Israeli Government Officials:

Ministry of the Interior, Israel, fax numbers:

Minister of Interior: 011-972-2-566-6376
General Manager: 011-972-2-670-1585
Spokesperson: 011-972-2-670-1628

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, fax: 011-972-2-651-2631; e-mail:
likud1 [at] likud [dot] org [dot] il or fax: 011-972-2-566 4838; email: pm [at] pmo [dot] gov [dot] il

President Ezer Weizman, fax: 011-972-2-561-0037

Internal Security Minister Kahalani, fax: 011-972-2-584-7872

Justice Minister Hanegbi, fax: 011-972-2-670-8722

Israeli Foreign Minister: fax: 011-972-2-530 3506; email:
ask [at] israel-info [dot] gov [dot] il

Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai: fax: 011-972-3-691 6940

Embassies and Consulates:

Embassy of Israel - Ottawa, 50 O'Connor St., #1005, Ottawa, ONT K1P
6L2, tel. 613-567-6450, fax: 613-237-8865, e-mail:
embisrott [at] cyberus [dot] ca

Embassy of Israel Washington, 3414 International Dr. NW, Washington DC
20008, tel. 202 364-5500, fax: 202 363-4156, e-mail: ask [at] israelemb [dot] org

Consulate-General of Israel, Chicago - homepage [at] israel [dot] org

Consulate-General of Israel, Houston - isramail [at] insync [dot] net

Consulate-General of Israel, Los Angeles - israinfo [at] primenet [dot] com

Consulate-General of Israel, Miami - ISRAELMI [at] gate [dot] net

Consulate-General of Israel, New York - nycon [at] interport [dot] net

Consulate-General of Israel, Philadelphia - net1 [at] israphl [dot] org

Consulate-General of Israel, San Franciso - ISRAELI [at] HOLONET [dot] NET