Monday, April 20
Yussuf and Zuhoor al Atrash visited the District Coordinating Office
to speak to a military investigator regarding the attack on their
family on March 22, 1998. (SEE PREVIOUS RELEASE.) Yussuf reported that
the officer had not believed him when he described the manner in which
soldiers had attacked him, his wife and two oldest children, but that
the officer had seemed to think that his papers showing ownership of
the land were in order.

When the al Atrashes returned, they watched the video that
journalists had taken of the attack to clarify their memories of what
had happened. Seventeen year old Manaal al Atrash, who had sustained
the most severe injuries, watched it as well and shortly afterwards
had another episode in which she seemed to lose consciousness and her
ight arm clenched up. Her father grasped her by the arm and talked
to her soothingly until she responded and her arm loosened up.

Afterwards, Yussuf al Atrash told Kathleen Kern that the last time
Manaal had seen the video she had had a similar episode and that he
had forgotten she shouldn't watch it.

Tuesday, April 21, 1998
While the team was en route to worship across from the il Ibrahimi
mosque, soldiers seated nearby greeted them by singing, "All we are
saying, is give peace a chance."

The speaker of the New York City Council, assemblyman Peter Vallone,
visited Hebron to show support for the Hebron settlers. As CPTer
Jamey Bouwmeester observed the Vallone entourage he greeted a settler
with, "Shalom." The settler responded, "You do not bring peace. You
are not welcome here."

Manaal al Atrash re-entered the hospital and Yussuf al Atrash, her
father, was diagnosed with shingles. A lawyer for the family sent
their deed and other relevant papers to Dedi Zucker, a Knesset member
of the Meretz party.

Four members of the team went out to visit the Atta and Rodeina Jaber
family. Consensus was that Rajeh, the new baby, was cute. The
Jabers now have a working bathroom. The gas station built on top of
the vineyards confiscated from their neighbors is nearing completion.

Thursday, April 23, 1998
Abdel Hadi Hantash from the Hebron Land Defense Committee stopped by
and reported that the military had arrested 38 people in the remote
area where the settler Dov Dribin had been killed on April 19 (see
previous release.) Hantash said that a press conference had been held
in Yatta on the previous day in which landowners gave a history of
negative encounters they had had with Driben.

Saed Sheyoukhi and the president of Hebron's Deaf Club stopped in to
present the team with a certificate of gratitude for its past
involvement with the deaf club. Sheyoukhi also gave the team a framed
cross-stitch sampler saying "God Bless CPT." Team members learned
that the "official" sign for "CPT" involves making the motion of
putting on a baseball cap and then drawing the index finger
underneath one's lower lip to indicate "red."

Friday, April 24, 1998
Kathleen Kern visited a family who lives on a hill between the
settlements of Beit Hadassah and Tel Rumeida. The Hebron team had
visited the family the first summer of the Hebron project because of
nightly soldier raids on his house. Since that time several families
have moved out of the neighborhood, because of soldier and settler
harassment. Recently, a soldier at a checkpoint on the roof opposite
the family's house had taken down his trousers in front of the mother
in the household. The father unsuccessfully tried to take a picture
of the soldier who had pants down (their camera had no film). Israeli
soldiers later accused him about being a member of the Palestinian
secret police.

Saturday, April 25, 1998
A journalist from CBS's Channel 2 station in New York came out to
interview Brooklyn resident Anne Montgomery and the al Atrash family.

Jane Adas and Kathleen Kern accompanied Yussuf and Zuhoor al Atrash to
a press conference sponsored by the Land Defense Committee in
Ramallah, where the al Atrashes told the story of the demolition of
their home and showed the video of their attack on March 22. Many of
the people present had begun grassroots mobilization efforts around
the issue of home demolitions.

Tuesday, April 28, 1998
A representative from Worldvision visited the al Atrash family and
presented them with a phone so that they will be able to call for help
if soldiers come again. Later in the day, friends of the team Kathy
Kapenga and Rhonda Brubacher took Willa' al Atrash shopping to
replace some trees and plants that had been bulldozed by the military
in the course of the March 3 demolition of the family's home. In the
late afternoon, men from the Hebron municipality arrived to hook up
the family's electricity. After Yussuf al Atrash showed the team
members the new lights and electric meter in his recently built
three room house, he said, "This is a lucky day for me."

Four members of the team visited some of the families living near the
settlement of Maon (near Yatta.) SEE PREVIOUS RELEA