CPTnet
17
October 2013
Palestine:
CPT Palestine plans new direction for its work
CPT’s
Palestine team will stay in Hebron, a microcosm of the Israeli
military occupation of Palestine, and make human rights promotion a
focus of its work, but plans to expand its work into new
peacebuilding enterprises over the next three years.
Most
full-time Palestine CPTers and several reservists gathered for a
five-day working retreat in Bethlehem from 9-15 October 2013 (Israeli
authorities denied Jonathan Brenneman entry into the country three
times on September 17, 24 and October 9, so he was not present).
Under the guidance of professional facilitator Gerry
O’Sullivan,
they produced a three-year strategic plan, in effect through the year
2016.
New
goals will include:
-
making
plans for Palestinian national delegations, with a long-term
objective of increasing the number of Palestinians on the team -
becoming
more deeply connected with Palestinian and Israeli partners and
campaigns that are addressing the broader oppressive context under
which Palestinians live -
encouraging
the creation of a “City of Nonviolence” in the H-2 area of
Hebron that will be a model for other Palestinian areas supporting
nonviolence -
Working
towards the organization of a civil society based on nonviolent
principles to prepare for a time when nonviolent actions increase in
strength and frequency -
providing
a forum for Hebronites to discuss common challenges of the
occupation -
Providing
nonviolence trainings for parents of schoolchildren who pass through
checkpoints that CPT monitors, university students, and teachers -
Developing
an introductory programme based on Hebron’s context to transform
how people look at conflict and to provide tools for addressing
conflict -
Providing
nonviolence training for trainers -
Researching
and publicizing Israeli denial of entry for Palestinians and
internationals
Tarek
Abuata, Palestine Project Support Coordinator notes, “CPT Palestine
continues to be committed to building equal transformative
partnerships with our Palestinian partners in Hebron, and we continue
to be committed to re-envisioning and giving our work new life
through our faith.”
