CPTnet
16 May 2011, rev. 24 May 2011
SOUTH HEBRON
HILLS: Israeli settlers invade Palestinian village of Tuba
[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.]
Israeli settlers
invaded the village of Tuba in the South Hebron Hills late Sunday night, 15 May.
They damaged property and injured and
stole livestock belonging to the Ali Awad family. Palestinians of Tuba reported
that they counted seven masked settlers, who entered and left the village on
foot, and saw two cars at the outskirts of Tuba, near the chicken barns of
Ma’on settlement. 
The rampaging settlers stole seven sheep and injured others,
including one which lost an eye. Two of the sheep were so severely wounded that the family had to slaughter them the next morning. In addition, the settlers upended three
water tanks, which held a total of 4.5 cubic meters of water. They
destroyed fences, punctured a storage tent and three large sacks of yogurt,
damaged a goat pen and destroyed the ventilation pipe of an outhouse.
They also set loose a donkey, which later returned.
A Tuba resident called Christian Peacemaker Teams about midnight Sunday to
report the settler invasion and request help in urging the Israeli police to respond.
The police refused to go to the village because no one there could speak
to them in Hebrew. Two Israeli soldiers arrived in Tuba on Monday
morning, but did not speak Arabic and so could not communicate with the
villagers.
The Ali Awad family is considering making a complaint to the Israeli police,
despite the fact that all their previous complaints about settler attacks,
vandalism or harassment have not yet resulted in any indictments or
compensation. On 21 March 2011, a masked settler from the illegal outpost
of Havat Ma’on stabbed Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad as the Palestinian traveled by
donkey from Tuba to the city of Yatta. Mahmoud Ali Awad spent a week in
the hospital recovering from stab wounds on his chest and arm.
See more pictures of the damage from the 15 May incident at: https://cpt.org/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=23016. See video of testimonies about the incident at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnRlCyAgTUg.
Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove have maintained an international
presence in At-Tuwani and the South Hebron Hills since 2004.
