CPTnet
5 April
2011
AT-TUWANI:
Soldiers prevent At-Tuwani residents from vigiling for recent stabbing victim
At-Tuwani, South Hebron Hills, West Bank–Residents of At-Tuwani held a peaceful vigil on
the morning of 26 March 2011 to protest the recent stabbing of Mahmoud Ibrahim
Ali Awad, a resident of nearby Tuba village.
Villagers
from At-Tuwani attempted to erect a small tent in honor of Awad on village land
near the Israeli outpost of Havat Ma’on, but Israeli soldiers 
\prevented them
from doing so by declaring the area a closed military zone. Soldiers ordered Palestinians and
internationals out of the area, and forced shepherds who were grazing sheep and
goats to leave. Women and children
of the 
village then occupied the area for several hours in defiance of the
order to leave.
On 19
March 2011, a settler from Havat Ma’on attacked and stabbed Awad on the
outskirts of At-Tuwani. Awad was
traveling by donkey to the city of Yatta for a medical appointment. A resident of the village saw the attack
and ran towards the settler, who ran back into the outpost. Awad was transported to Alia Hospital
in Hebron, where he is recovering from stab wounds to his head, arm, and chest.
Also on 26
March, Israeli soldiers arrested sixteen Israeli peace activists from the
organization Ta’ayush when the activists attempted to walk on the road that connects
the village of Tuba with At-Tuwani. Due to settler violence, the road has been inaccessible to
Palestinians and internationals since 2003.
[Note:
According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in The
Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts are considered illegal under Israeli
law.]
Additional photos are available at https://cpt.org/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=22535.
