Ahmad and Muzahre Jabber and their family live in a two-story house
located directly across the street from the military checkpoint
leading to the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba. The household
includes four grown sons, their wives and 13 children, including a
severely handicapped 16-year-old. They have been suffering from the
presence of Israeli soldiers on their roof since the beginning of the
Intifada 10 years ago. Starting in 1990, when a settler was killed in
the area, the military has used the family's rooftop as an observation
post 24 hours a day.

The family reports that soldiers make noise all
night with their guns hitting the metal ladder to the roof and the
railing, and the family is unable to sleep. The soldiers throw waste
off the roof and harass the children. Muzahre has on two occasions
been seriously ill with typhus, which she attributes to the soldiers'
use of their rooftop as a toilet and garbage dump, and the pollution
of their water supply. Now the roof has been declared a closed
military area and the family has no access to it. Instead of their
rooftop water tanks, they have been forced to connect pipes to a
cousin's water supply for potable water.

The family has made many complaints to authorities, including the High
Court, the Israeli Civil Administration, and the police. Five years
ago they received a letter from then Prime Minister Rabin stating that
the military presence on their roof would conclude after one year. The
family has registered some 20 complaints with TIPH (the Temporary
International Presence in Hebron) since 1994. As the result of their
persistent complaints, some changes have been made. Instead of the
soldiers entering the family's home and using their inside stairs to
the roof, they now use an outside ladder.

Instead of using the family's electric lights all night, the soldiers now
use a separate electrical line that was specially installed. These
accommodations
have done little to alleviate the constant oppression of the soldiers'
presence, and helped convince the family that the use of their home as
a military observation point is intended to be permanent. The family
has suggested two alternatives that would remove the soldiers from
their roof, yet still satisfy Israeli security concerns: to move the
Kiryat Arba checkpoint up the road nearer the settlement, which is
some 500 meters away, or to use the roof of an old, unused stone house
that the family owns, located behind their current home. Neither of
these suggestions has been accepted by the authorities.

CPT SUGGESTED ACTION:
Write appropriate officials. The family suggests that letters to
Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai may have the most immediate
impact.

In writing Israeli officials:
-- mention the family's specific situation.
-- ask for immediate removal of soldiers from the family's roof and
suggest the alternatives that would meet security concerns.

In writing U.S. or Canadian officials or elected representatives:
-- ask them to urge the Israeli government to take the action
suggested above.
-- letters to U.S. officials and congressional
members may express indignation that U.S.tax dollars are helping fund
military oppression in Hebron.

ADDRESSES

ISRAELI GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:

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

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

US GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:

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

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

Members of Congress: US House of Representatives, Washington, DC
20515; Senators: US Senate, Washington, DC 20510; tel: Capital
Switchboard 1-800-504-0031 or 1-888-723-5246

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

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:

Prime Minister Jean Chretien, R. 311 S, Centre Block; House of
Commons; Ottawa ON K1A 0A6 (no postage necessary); tel: 613-992-4211;
fax. 613-941-6900; e-mail pm [at] pm [dot] gc [dot] ca

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

House of Commons, Public Information Office: tel: 613-992-4793;
e-mail: infonet [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca