CPTnet
28 June 2011
AT-TUWANI: Masked Israeli settlers attack
Palestinian shepherds in Meshaha Valley
On 25 June 2011, eleven Israeli
settlers armed with stones and knives attacked Shaadi Muhamari and his brother
Kamal Muhamari as they grazed their sheep in Meshaha Valley, next to the
Palestinian village of At-Tuwani. The
attack occurred around 10:00 a.m.
According to Shaadi Muhamari, the
settlers came down from the Israeli outpost of Havat Ma’on. Some of the settlers were masked as they
ran 
toward the shepherds throwing stones, yelling blasphemies against Islam,
and saying that internationals were now not present to protect them. A settler attacked Shaadi Muhamri’s donkey
with a knife, and when he attempted to stop the attacker and protect his
donkey, settlers hit him with stones in the back and torso. The attack left Shaadi 
Muhamari with
bruises and welts on his back.
Settlers also chased the Muhamari’s
herd for several hundred meters, throwing stones. According to the shepherds, the soldiers saw the incident and
refused to get involved. Palestinians
told internationals that after the attack, they saw IDF soldiers greeting and
shaking hands with the settlers as they walked back into the outpost.
Muhamari told internationals, “We
need all the people of the world, Europe and America, to see who is the
aggressor, and how the Palestinians are treated by the settlers.”
[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva
Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Court of Justice, and
several United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including Havat Ma’on (Hill 833),
are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]
Operation Dove and Christian Peacemaker
Teams have maintained an international presence in At-Tuwani and South Hebron
Hills since 2004.
More pictures are available on the Operation Dove website.
