| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 31 August 1995
ISRAELI SOLDIERS DEMOLISH PALESTINIAN HOME
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli soldiers destroyed the home of
Mohammed Ribhi Mustafa Sultan on August 25 and arrested two of
his sons. The soldiers have forbidden Mr. Sultan to rebuild his
home pending a government order to confiscate the land. He has
heard nothing of his sons who were taken to prison.
For the past 38 years Mr. Sultan, 57, has been a headmaster at a
boys school. On August 25 at approximately 4am, Mr. Sultan went
to the local mosque for morning prayers. While he was away and
his wife, three sons, and two daughters were asleep, two men
allegedly responsible for the August 25 bus bombing in Jerusalem
entered his home. Mr. Sultan went back to bed upon his return
from prayers. At approximately 6am, one of his daughters
awakened to around 300 Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers
surrounding the house.
A soldier in charge asked Mr. Sultan who was in his home. He
responded that only his family was at home. The soldier told
Mr. Sultan to get his family out of the house. After they were
out of the house, the soldiers called for the two men to come
out. They came out of the house unarmed. When the two men were
approximately 2 meters away, the soldiers opened fire. The men
were killed instantly. The soldier told Mr. Sultan to drag the
bodies approximately 50 meters to the end of the road.
The soldiers began to interrogate Mr. Sultan, who denied he knew
the men, swearing by his Koran. As the soldiers questioned him
further, the two oldest sons, 27 year old Ihad and 23 year old
Nordeen, were blindfolded and handcuffed. Soldiers kicked at
their legs as they guided the two sons to the jeep until they
could no longer walk, then dragged them the rest of the way. The
soldiers drove off, leaving the dead bodies by the roadside in
the hot sun.
Within three hours the soldiers returned to question Mr. Sultan
again about his relationship with the two men. Unsatisfied with
his answers, the soldiers told Mr. Sultan to remove his family
from the house and open all the doors and windows. Then two
bulldozers demolished the home and a nearby car, destroying all
of the family's belongings - their clothes, furniture, heirlooms
and money. Within twenty minutes there was nothing left. "All
my life savings were in that house. For the past 20 years, I put
everything I had into building this house for my family. Now
everything is gone," said Mr Sultan later to CPT members Carmen
Pauls and Tony Asta.
Within days sympathetic family members, neighbors and friends
donated materials to rebuild the house but soldiers presented a
government order forbidding its construction. Now Mr. Sultan and
his family live in tents donated by the Red Crescent (the Islamic
counterpart to the Red Cross) and UNRWA, hoping that the
military order can be appealed. Beside the tents, building
materials lie idle. Three times a day, Israeli soldiers drive
onto the Sultan property and inspect the site, making sure no
progress has been made on the reconstruction of the home. Says
Mr. Sultan, "All I have is my faith. I will be happy when my
two sons return home safe."
Christian Peacemaker Teams has maintained a violence-reducing
presence in Hebron since June. Early in the project, the team
documented similar destruction of homes by the IDF and helped the
Palestinian community rebuild them. CPT is a project of
Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations.
8 September 1995
"Israeli settlers attack Islamic Waqf building"
by Wendy Lehman and Carmen Pauls
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- On September 7, during Christian Peacemaker Team's daily
walk through the city center, a local Palestinian sheikh (Muslim religious
leader) who is familiar with the work of CPT approached them. He told them
Israeli settlers had stoned and fire-bombed the Islamic Waqf building in
Hebron on September 6 and 7. The sheikh then took them to the site.
The Islamic Waqf building houses the offices of religious leaders in Hebron
and the surrounding communities. It is located near the Israeli settlement
of Avraham Avinu in the city center.
Due to the devastation to the Palestinian community in the city center over
the past year and a half, the Palestinian National Authority under Yasser
Arafat ordered that an additional Waqf headquarters be moved into the area.
The move took place on September 6, and according to witnesses the settlers
attacked the older, more accessible Waqf on the same day.
Settlers stoned the older building several times during the course of the
day, Sheikh Selah Natsche said. Natsche is the head of the Waqf department
for Hebron and its surrounding villages. Settlers also put stickers on the
door which state, in Hebrew, "Hebron is a Jewish city." Natsche added that
Israeli soldiers sprayed-painted graffiti on the door.
During the early hours of September 7, settlers fire-bombed the roof of the
building, said witnesses. In addition, settlers crawled onto the roof from
within Avraham Avinu settlement. They took a Palestinian flag from the roof
of the Waqf building and burned it. Israeli military officers also removed a
flag from in front of the Waqf building door on the morning of September 7.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the
Brethren, Mennonite congregations of North America.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 September 1995
"Israeli settlers attack Palestinian elementary school; ten girls injured"
by Wendy Lehman,
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Approximately five Israeli settlers attacked a
Palestinian elementary girls' school at 8:30 am September 10. The school
stands across the street from Beit Hadassah settlement and an Israeli
military checkpoint.
Beit Hadassah resident Anat Cohen, with several other adult male and
female settlers, removed a Palestinian flag from the school grounds and
burned it, said witnesses. They then attacked the school headmistress
Fariel Abu Haikel, striking her in the chest.
At 9 am, several teachers, Abu Haikel and the approximately 150
students of the school decided to march to the Palestinian Education
Department in Hebron. They wished to make an official complaint because
the school has been attacked a number of times in the past.
As they passed Beit Hadassah, the settlers again attacked the group.
One adult male settler took a Palestinian flag the girls were carrying and began
swinging it around at them. He ran at the girls screaming, said witnesses.
An adult female settler threw approximately five glass liter bottles
at the girls; the bottles broke around their feet. "The girls were running
around, shouting and crying," said journalist Na'el Sheyokhi who accompanied the
group. Ten of the girls were taken to Al Alia hospital in Hebron with minor
injuries.
Palestinian residents in the area, many from Deboyya Street, ran out
to help the teachers calm and gather the girls together -- one was a member
of the Hebron Defense Committee and a contact person for Christian Peacemaker
Teams (CPT) in Hebron.
Several military jeeps arrived at the site, but no settlers were arrested,
according to witnesses. The soldiers arrested four Palestinians and told
Palestinian journalists filming at the site to leave.
The group then continued to the Education Department and to the Hebron
Municipality (i.e. city hall) to make complaints.
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has been maintaining a violence-deterring
presence on Deboyya Street every Saturday since July 22. A four to six
person team has been present in Hebron since the beginning of June. Current
members are Kathleen Kern (Rochester, NY), Wendy Lehman (Kidron, OH), Carmen
Pauls (Henderson, NE) and Hedy Sawadsky (Vineland, Ontario, CANADA).
12 September 1995
"Israeli soldiers remove Palestinian flag from elementary school, one
Palestinian detained"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian elementary
girl's school, called Kortuba, on September 10. Ten students were taken to
the hospital with minor injuries. At the invitation of some of the students'
parents, Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members went to the school at 7:15
am on September 11 to accompany the children as they arrived. At
approximately 8:30 am, Israeli soldiers and police removed a Palestinian flag
from in front of the school, and arrested one Palestinian man.
The school stands on a hill across the road from the Israeli
settlement of Beit Hadassah and an Israeli military checkpoint. On September
10, according to witnesses, several Israeli settlers attacked Kortuba school.
Beit Hadassah resident Anat Cohen removed a Palestinian flag from in front of
the school and burned it. She also struck school headmistress Fariel Abu Haikel
in the chest. Settler Elie Galbo took a Palestinian flag from the children
and ran at them swinging it. An unidentified adult female settler threw
glass bottles at the children.
On September 11, Kortuba headmistress Abu Haikel replaced the
Palestinian flag in front of the school while Cohen and Galbo looked on from
in front of Beit Hadassah, approximately 100 yards downhill. Five to seven
Israeli soldiers stood near the foot of the stairs leading to the school.
At 7:30 am, the girls began school with a song. Following their
singing, Beit Hadassah residents played loud music in Hebrew. Cohen began
photographing the flag from the bottom of the school's steps, about 50 yards
away, at 8:15 am. She then climbed the steps toward the school, followed by
approximately six soldiers, and reached the front door of the school's
outside gate. Although the soldiers would not allow her inside the gate, she
was able to photograph the students, teachers, parents and CPT members from
outside.
A few minutes later, approximately 15 more soldiers arrived with five
Israeli police officers. As the police officers conversed with Abu Haikel
and parents of the children, a soldier removed the newly-placed Palestinian
flag. He wrapped it up and headed toward the outside gate of the school, at
which point Abu Haikel grabbed a hold of the flag and tried to retrieve it.
They struggled over it, along with a police officer, and Abu Haikel was
pushed into the door. She let go of the flag and the soldier took it
outside.
A father of one Kortuba student, Khalid Al Khateeb, argued with the
soldiers and officers concerning the removal of the flag. As he gestured
toward the flag, the soldiers and police officers pushed him back several
times. He was taken outside the gate to talk with the officers. Al Khateeb
is a contact for CPT on Deboyya Street, near Beit Hadassah.
When asked why the flag was removed, one soldier reported that it was
against the law, since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1993, to fly a
flag in a public place. Other contacts report that this is not the case.
All Palestinian schools fly flags on their premises, said witnesses. Why
Kortuba school was targeted is unclear.
At 8:30 am, the soldiers and police departed, taking Al Khateeb with
them in a police van. CPTers stayed until 9 am, at which time Cohen left in
a car and Galbo entered Beit Hadassah. CPTers left their phone number at the
school in case further problems arose. The CPT team checked the school again
at 11 am and 12:30 pm (when school ends for the day). Two CPT members stood
in the street outside the school to make sure the girls were able to leave
safely.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the
Brethren, Mennonite congregations of North America.
"Clashes erupt in Hebron for two days in a row"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Clashes erupted throughout the city September
13 and 14, unparalleled since the days following the Abraham Mosque massacre,
when local Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein shot to death 29 Palestinian
worshippers. We four members of the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT)
stationed in Hebron witnessed today's clash. Locals tell us today and
yesterday remind them of the early days of the intifadeh.
Tensions have been escalating for the past few weeks while Hebron is
discussed in the peace talks between Israel and the PLO (Palestinian
Liberation Organization). The situation has become more tense since
September 10 when Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian girls' elementary
school, called Kortuba, near Beit Hadassah settlement in the city center. On
this date, said witnesses, settler Anat Cohen burned the Palestinian flag in
front of the school and struck headmistress Fariel Abu Haikel in the chest.
Ten of the students were injured when settler Elie Galbo took a flag from
them and began swinging it at the girls.
We CPTers, at the invitation of several of the students' parents,
began to come to the school every morning since then to accompany the children
as they arrived. The school teachers have continued to put up the Palestinian
flag on the mornings since September 10; the flag has then been removed by
Israeli soldiers and police. On September 13 and 14, the girls arrived to
find trash strewn about in the front of the door and Hebrew graffiti
spray-painted on the school. "Kahane" was spray-painted on the door. Kahane
Hai is an extremist Jewish organization outlawed by the Israeli government and
classified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization The
organization was named after right-wing extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane who
favored transferring all of the Arabs out of Palestine.
The CPT team was out of town on September 13, but when we returned in
the evening, we saw black marks on the road from tire burnings. Rocks and
garbage littered the road and trash cans were still on fire. We heard later
that that morning at about 10:30 am, a female settler came into Kortuba
school and refused to leave. An adult male settler approached the school
carrying an Uzi and an Israeli flag. He was stopped from entering the school
by the IDF (Israel Defense Force). Mustafa Natsche, Palestinian mayor of
Hebron, was at Kortuba school to learn about the situation and a settler
woman spit in his face.
Soldiers eventually cleared the school of settlers. Thirteen of the
students went to the hospital because they had fainted or were hysterical.
Many were screaming and crying.
Below the school, which lies on a hill, settlers began chanting
"Goldstein is a hero", said witnesses. Palestinians shouted words about
Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) back at the settlers. The IDF pushed
the Palestinians back. According to witnesses, approximately five to seven
Palestinians and two to three settlers were arrested. Curfew was imposed
on the area from about 12 noon until 1 pm.
Clashes had erupted throughout the city, however. Hundreds of people
were on the streets -- Palestinian boys and teenagers threw stones at passing
Israeli soldier jeeps and foot patrols. The soldiers fired live ammition in
the air, dropped concussion grenades ("sound bombs") and used tear gas to
break up the crowds, most of whom were onlookers or journalists. Some gas
was fired near a day school center. Approximately 25 babies had to be taken
to the hospital because of the gas.
On September 14, because of the previous week's actions by settlers, a
nonviolent demonstration and sit-in was held by Palestinians in support of
the students. CPTers were present as well.
The demonstration began at 10 am. Hundreds of the older female
students, aged about ten to 16, came out to support the younger students.
Soon after CPTer Carmen Pauls told me how effective it was for the older
girls to support the younger ones by making a non-violent statement, someone
saw an Israeli soldier pass by. The girls, misunderstanding what had
happened, began screaming, "Mustautaneen!" (settlers) and ran up the hill
toward where I was standing. Some were crying and most were terrified.
Soon, the situation calmed down again.
Other locals began to join the group -- one had a loudspeaker and was
rallying the crowd. At about 11 am, the word "jesh" (soldiers) began to
pass through the crowd. The girls were kept up the street away from the IDF
while the rest of the group was near the soldiers. The IDF began to
approach the crowd.
Several Palestinian youth picked up bottles and stones. The older
men told them, "La, shabab!" (No, young men!) and some adult males formed a line
between them and the soldiers, linking arms. But the boys began throwing
objects at the soldies -- bottles, cement, stones, whatever was handy.
Carmen and I found ourselves in front of the group, facing the soldiers who
began running at the crowd. After taking a few photos, I began to run with
the group that was surging up the street and to the sides of the road.
Several soldiers ran up the road under a shower of rocks and bottles.
The IDF dropped several concussion grenades on the street and were followed by
a slew of reporters. I ran up with the journalists toward the jeeps. Stones
were coming from everywhere -- one hit me in the ankle. A camera operator
for CNN was hit by a stone in the forehead and fell on the ground. He was
later taken away by ambulance, but appeared to have only minor injuries.
I was right next to a side-road at this point, and stones were coming
from its direction. An Israeli soldier kept aiming his M-16 up the side-road,
clicking the safety catch off on his weapon. At one point, he rested his gun
to steady his aim on an ambulance.
Later, a soldier came down the side-road with two Palestinian male
youths, aged about 14. Each boy had his hand tied to the other with nylon
cuffs. The soldier pulled them by these cuffs, which tighten around your
wrist when you pull on them or struggle against them. They were put in a
military jeep as an older woman argued with the soldiers. The jeep began to
pull out backwards as Palestinians tried to block its path. The soldiers
pointed their guns at people who got too close.
The jeep pulled out and more Israeli military officers arrived on the
scene, such as Captain Eyal Ziv (advisor to the military commander on Arab
affairs). Several stones continued to be thrown, but it seemed the situation
was calming down. I ran to get more film, and by the time I was back, the clash
was over and the IDF was gone. It was 11:30 am.
Soon afterwards, I called CPTer Kathleen Kern who had stayed down by
Kortuba school with CPTer Hedy Sawadsky. She told me there were problems down
in Babazawiah district about ten minutes down the road from our house. I found
out later from Kathleen that a group of young female students also marched
down toward Kortuba school. They were stopped at the Israeli military
checkpoint next to the Israeli settlement of Beit Hadassah. They tearfully
pleaded with the soldiers to let them pass, but they were turned back. They
headed, instead, toward Babazawiah. Kathleen joined them.
Just down the road, near another military checkpoint, Palestinian boys
began to throw bottles at the soldiers nearby. Kathleen approached one boy and
took the bottle from him. Older men nearby agreed with her and told the boy
not to throw anything.
She then stood in between the soldiers and the bottle-throwers, hoping
to de-escalate the violence. Palestinian journalist friends kept telling her to
come back to the sidewalk because it was dangerous. Finally, one of the
reporters, Nizam Jabari, approached her and forceably guided her to the
sidewalk. He told her that people don't understand what she's doing and they
might think she was a settler. Another journalist told her, "We need you for
more than just today."
She rejoined the girls who continued to march and as she rounded the
corner, she passed me. I then joined the journalists and followed the
soldiers as they went up the street to find stone-throwers. They were lined
up along the streets in military formation while 20-some reporters and camera
operators filmed in the midst of the action. Cement blocks were being dropped
on the soldiers from overhead; stones and bottles were thrown.
Palestinian mothers carried their children through the area. Children
stood all around us, some as young as three. Some of the children threw stones,
some didn't. Most of the stone throwers were between the ages of about seven
or eight and 15 or so.
Eventually, we all reached an area just two minutes from our house, up a
sideroad from the vegetable market near which we CPTers live. Up another
sideroad was a hospital and boys were throwing stones from that area.
Soldiers lined up along the opposite side of the street, looking for an
opening. Stones were coming from all directions and occassionally I and the
journalists ran for cover. About five soldiers ran up the hill toward the
hospital. The stone-throwers scattered.
Periodically, we would hear gunshots in the air. At about 12:30 pm,
curfew was announced by the IDF but it went unheaded. Everytime a jeep came
by, it was pelted with rocks. Occasionally, soldiers came bursting through the
group of us reporters and journalists and chased down a stone-thrower. I saw
three Palestinian boys, aged approximately ten to 15, arrested and taken in
military jeeps. As journalists took photos of them, the soldiers told the
arrestees to hide their faces.
One friend, Naji Da'na, who works as a camera operator for french media,
told me, "As soon as the soldiers show up, the kids throw stones. When the
soldiers leave, they stop."
Another jeep was parked down the side-road in the vegetable market.
Several Palestinian women were headed in its direction. One Israeli soldier
got out of the jeep and gestured for the women to come down. He then made
sexual gestures toward the women. Several boys threw stones at the jeep, and
the soldier repeated his actions.
Soon after this incident took place, the situation calmed down. At
about 2:30 pm, the soldiers were gone and the journalists headed out.
According to some sources, the soldiers used restraint today. During the
intifadeh, the soldiers were known to fire live ammunition into crowds.
People are unsure what will happen in the next couple of days or what
exactly these clashes mean. Da'na, who covered the intifadeh as a camera
operator, said, "My expectation is that [these clashes] will last for some
days. If the Israeli settlers commit another act of violence [against
Palestinians], I think we may see a second intifadeh."
Another contact, Hillel Barak, an Israeli activist and member of the
Jerusalem-based Hebron Solidarity Committee, was present during the clashes
today. He believes the Israeli authorities must remove the settlers from the
city center. "I think [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin is using it
[the issue of the settlers] as a bargaining card...If you want a bargaining
card, it must be something you can control. The settlers here are just too
extreme and unpredictable. The Israeli authorities are unable to control
or maintain them."
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the
Brethren, Mennonite congregations of North America.
17 September 1995
"Tensions escalate while Hebron discussed in peace talks"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- The final deliberations of the Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks concerning Hebron began yesterday, September 16, and continue
today in Taba, Egypt. Hebron is currently the sticking point in the peace
agreements and tensions have been escalating over the past several weeks on
both sides. Locals say that if the agreement is not satisfactory to
Palestinians and Israelis living here, clashes which began last week may
continue.
Approximately 120,000 Palestinians, 250 Israeli settlers and 1,500 IDF
(Israel Defense Force) soldiers populate this West Bank city. Recent events
show the possibility of what some say is the re-emergence of the extremist
Jewish underground. In addition, for three days last week, Palestinian youth
and the IDF participated in clashes which remind some of the early days of
the intifadeh -- stone- and bottle-throwing by Palestinians; concussion
grenades ("sound bombs"), rubber bullets and tear gas by the IDF.
On September 8, men dressed in IDF uniforms -- some wearing gas masks --
entered Hal Hul village north of Hebron at about midnight. They searched
houses in the village until they reached the home of Palestinian Salman
Hussein Azzama'reh who wasn't home when they arrived. The men tied up
Salman's father. When Salman returned home they shot the 24-year-old three
times in the head, killing him.
A new extremist Jewish organization calling itself "Eyal" took credit
for the attack in opposition to the peace process. They promised more such
killings in the future. The Palestinian Authority Information Ministry
warned similar attacks could take place due to the recent increase in settler
violence. Later, an extremist Jewish group calling itself, "The Sword of
David" also took credit for the attack. The IDF reports that no Israeli
soldiers were in the area at that time and denies any involvement.
A spokesperson for the outlawed Jewish "Kach" movement, classified by
the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, said those who killed
Salman are members of Kach who changed their name when Kach was banned.
Although two groups already claimed the attack, Israeli police arrested
three Palestinian males on September 15 and are looking for a fourth as
suspects in the killing.
A couple of days following the Hal Hul murder, Israeli settlers began a
series of harassments and assaults at a Palestinian elementary girls' school,
called Kortuba, in Hebron. The attacks began on September 10, when settlers
from Beit Hadassah settlement, across the road from the school, began
chanting racist slogans and played Hebrew music over their loudspeakers.
The settlers then took the Palestinian flag from in front of the school and
burned it. One settler struck Abu Haikel in the chest and another swung a
Palestinian flag at the girls. Ten students were taken to the hospital with
minor injuries. According to witnesses, IDF soldiers at a checkpoint in
front of Beit Hadassah did little to stop the attack.
On September 13, Israeli Knesset (i.e., Parliament) member and local Israeli
settler Shaul Gutman lead another attack on Kortuba. He carried an Uzi and
an Israeli flag intending to place his flag at the school. Although he met
with little resistance from Israeli soldiers and was able to enter the area
of Kortuba, the IDF prevented him from following through. At the same time,
a settler woman walked into the school and refused to leave; she also spit in
the face of Palestinian Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natsche. About a dozen girls at
the school panicked and fainted. Five were taken, unconscious, to the
hospital. Other girls tried to climb into the departing ambulances because
they feared additional violence if they walked past the settlement.
Soon after these events took place, clashes broke out between settlers
and Palestinians near Kortuba. Although curfew was imposed on that area for
about an hour, Palestinian youth lit tires on fire and threw stones and
bottles at the IDF at other places in the city. The Israeli soldiers
responded with tear gas, sound bombs and rubber bullets. Many, including
babies from a local day school, were taken to the hospital due to gas
inhalation.
A mass non-violent demonstration took place the following day with
hundreds of local school children protesting the violence. After the IDF
arrived, the situation turned violent as youth, disregarding the protests of
Palestinian adults, began throwing bottles at the IDF. The clashes lasted
several hours and began again the following day.
Locals see little possibility for an easy solution to the problems here.
Because of upcoming summer elections, it is unlikely that Israel Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin will want to evacuate the Israeli settlers in the
center of the city. In addition, Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
Chair Yasser Arafat would be likewise committing "political suicide" if he
allows the settlers to remain. Some settlers here, almost all armed with
Uzis or a side arm and known as extreme and violent even by other West Bank
settlers, have promised they would fight if they are forcibly evacuated by
the Israeli government. On the other hand, if the settlers, who regularly
harass and sometimes physically attack Palestinian residents, are not
evacuated, locals feel that the clashes will continue and there may be a
second intifadeh in Hebron.
Residents are tired of being searched and/or questioned as they pass
through 15 city-center military checkpoints, of having their shops closed, of
facing arbitrary arrest which may include the use of torture. Most residents
fear this won't change. According to local Palestinian journalist Khalid
Amayreh, "Yasser Arafat has been telling the Palestinians that the peace process
eventually means the removal of the Israeli occupation. However what we have
been seeing so far [in Hebron is] that we are talking about a re-organization
of the occupation and not a disappearance of it."
Yet not everyone approves of the recent clashes. While some boys were
throwing stone and bottles last week, many others simply watched or stayed
indoors. One teenage Palestinian boy said he does not approve of the
stone-throwing and it will only make things worse for Hebronites; he fears
increasing harassments by the IDF. Yet, he added, some Palestinian youth
here see this as their only alternative to standing by and doing nothing.
Hebronites fear they may face a similar fate to that of Salman Azzama'reh.
One Palestinian whose home is often arbitrarily searched by the IDF said,
"I'm afraid, especially after what happened in Hal Hul."
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the
Brethren, Mennonite congregations of North America.
Sept. 23, 1995
Settler Assaults Elderly Man in Hebron
by Kathleen Kern
On September 23, 1995, Christian Peacemaker Team members in Hebron witnessed
a young male settler assault a 75 year old Palestinian man on Dubboya Street
in Hebron.
Between 1:30 and 4:45 CPT witnessed numerous other acts of harassment by
settlers, ranging from pre-pubescent girls throwing stones at the houses of
Dubboya Street residents and chanting "Goldstein, Goldstein," to middle aged
men yelling "Kill the Arabs," as they walked from the Beit Hadassah
settlement to the Tel Rumeida settlement.
At approximately 4:45, four male settlers who had earlier called out insults,
returned from Tel Rumeida and began speaking in Arabic to residents of
Dubboya Street standing across the street from the barber shop near the road
that leads up to Tel Rumeida. Mahmoud Achmed Al-Bayed became incensed at
what they were saying and began to berate them. One of the group of men, a
short dark-skinned settler wearing goggle-style sunglasses rammed Mr.
Al-Bayid in the torso with his shoulder, knocking him backwards. CPT members
stood between Mr. Al Bayid and the settler who had attacked him. As Mr.
Al-Bayid came around the CPT members, speaking to the settlers in Arabic,
another one of the four men approached him in a karate-style stance.
The four men then proceeded on to Beit Hadassah, with Mr. Al-Bayid and his
neighbors following. When Mr. Al-Bayid reported the settlers' behavior to
the soldiers standing at the Beit Hadassah checkpoint, they told him to call
the police. They did not attempt to apprehend the settler who had assaulted
him, even though they had seen him enter the Beit Hadassah compound.
Neighbors called the police and Wendy Lehman and Kathleen Kern, who had
witnessed the incident accompanied Mr. Al Bayid to the police station. They
later found out from the police officer who interviewed all three of them
that the man who had attacked Mr. Al Bayid had been defaming the reputations
of Mr. Al-Bayid's wife and daughters. He had been so upset by the insults to
his family that he had neglected to tell the officer conducting the interview
about the physical assault.
When CPT member Kathleen Kern asked if she could look at pictures of settlers
kept at the Civil Administration, the officer conducting the interview, said,
"We know who he [the settler who had committed the assault] is."
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the
Brethren, Mennonite congregations of North America.
25 September 1995
"Conversations at the Israeli police station in Hebron"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- "I think what you are doing here is beautiful," the
Israeli police officer Yossi told Christian Peacemaker Team member Kathleen
Kern. She had been explaining to him what had happened earlier in the day.
She and I ended up at the police station because we had witnessed an
Israeli settler assault an elderly Palestinian man.
Several times that day, we reported to the police, a group of four armed
Israeli settlers walked up and down the Palestinian residential street of
Deboyya. As the settlers passed, they shouted, "Kill the Arabs" or worse.
Eventually, one of the settler men began a tirade of abuses against Mahmoud
Ahmad Al Bayed (75 years old). After they argued for several minutes, the
settler thrust his shoulder into Mahmoud's side.
To prevent the situation from getting more physical, Kathleen moved
in front of Mahmoud and I held his arm for a moment or two. The argument
became more intense. I began to wonder of the settler would attack again, so
I stood next to him and held my hands out partially in front of him. I wanted
to be ready to hold the settler back or to jump in between him and the elderly
man if need be. Kathleen stayed in front of Mahmoud. Fortunately, the settler
walked off with three others. The attacker then slipped into Beit Hadassah
settlement.
Mahmoud asked neighbors to call the police. After the officers arrived,
they took Mahmoud, Kathleen and I to the Israeli Civil (i.e. military)
Administration where the main police station is located. The officer took a
complaint from Mahmoud in a back office while we waited in the lobby.
A young Israeli desk officer, "Moshe," asked us why we were at the
police station. We told him a little about CPT and what we hoped to do here.
He seemed incredulous that we would choose to come to Hebron.
"I've only been here two months," he told us, "and I've already seen
five bodies." He told us he wanted to go back to Eilat, Israel where he grew
up going to the beaches, relaxing, working.
"I don't want to be like the police here," he said. When he first
arrived, an Israeli police commander showed him around the city. They passed
two Palestinian children playing. One child threw a stone at the other child.
"See," the commander told Moshe, "they are born animals." Moshe told us he
didn't want to become hardened like his commander.
I was then called back to make a statement to the investigating officer
Yossi. It took about 20 or so minutes to convince Yossi that I had a right,
according to Israeli lawyer contacts and other police officers, to write my
statement in English before I would sign it. We have made statements to the
police before and have gone through the same process every time. Eventually,
Yossi took my statement in Hebrew and let me write a copy in English which I
signed.
When I returned to the lobby, Kathleen went back to Yossi's office.
As we waited for her, Moshe chatted with Mahmoud in Arabic, laughing
periodically. "I like this guy," Moshe told me in English. Moshe asked the
elderly man what he thought about me. Mahmoud said that he thought of
Kathleen and I as daughters.
At about 7 pm, the Muslim call to prayer rang out in the city as it does
five times every day in Hebron. Mahmoud immediately got up from his chair,
faced Mecca, dropped his jacket on the dirty floor of the police station and
began his prayers. Moshe began reading reports at his desk and I opened a
book.
Meanwhile, Kathleen was making her statement in the back office.
Yossi told her, "I suppose you want to write your statement in English like your
friend." She told him yes and he complied.
As she made her statement, she explained to Yossi what we were doing,
as a CPT team, in Hebron. He told her, "I really like people who do beautiful
things like you are doing."
When he discovered she was leaving the country soon, he asked her if she
would come back. "It depends on what my [CPT] director says," she told him.
"He may send me to Chechnya, [Russia]."
"Don't go to Chechnya, it's dangerous there," Yossi said. "Come back
here."
25 September 1995
"Contrasting IDF treatment of Palestinian children and Israeli settler
children"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- More than once, our Palestinian friends here
have told us that under the Israeli occupation, one law applies to Israeli
settlers and a different law applies to Palestinians. On September 23, I
saw this "two-law" system play out with children who were throwing stones.
When the Palestinian children threw stones, dozens of soldiers from the IDF
(Israel Defense Force) responded by shooting rubber bullets and smoke bombs
at them. But when the settler children threw stones, Israeli soldiers tried
to stop them by ineffectually asking them to leave.
RUBBER BULLETS AND SMOKE BOMBS . . .
At about 2:30 pm, I learned that Palestinian children were clashing with
Israeli soldiers in Babazawiah district. I headed down there. By the time I
arrived, the IDF had dispersed or arrested most of the Palestinian
stone-throwers -- some of whom were as young as five. Several military
jeeps were still racing up to the area, their blue lights flashing, while
dozens of journalists from all over the world were running around trying to
get the best photograph.
A friend told me that a few minutes earlier, a Palestinian boy was
arrested for throwing stones. His parents argued with the IDF and an Israeli
soldier shot the father with rubber bullets, hitting him in the leg. The
soldiers also fired rubber bullets and smoke bombs at the onlookers, most of
whom were not involved in the stone-throwing. Two teenage Palestinian boys were
injured by the bullets and taken to the hospital.
A GENTLE PUSH . . .
About an hour later, after the situation had calmed down, I went to
nearby Deboyya Street -- a Palestinian neighborhood which lies between the
Israeli settlements of Tel Rumeida and Beit Hadassah. Here I met CPT co-worker
Kathleen Kern. As I walked up to her, she immediately told me, "Get your
[camera] zoom out" and pointed to one soldier in the midst of about a dozen
Israeli settler children. Some of the boys were carrying wooden sticks an
inch thick. They were all standing about five feet from the Israeli military
checkpoint outside Beit Hadassah. Kathleen told me the settler children had
been throwing stones at Palestinians sitting on an upstairs balcony for more
than 20 minutes. Several of them had shouted, "Goldstein is my father!"
(Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians a year and a
half ago before being killed himself).
According to Kathleen, the soldier tried asking them nicely to leave,
but they began shouting at him. He then told them more forcefully, "You don't
live in this neighborhood. Why don't you go home?" They refused.
I got my zoom lens ready as the settler boys and girls continued their
harassment and stone-throwing. Several adult settlers stood by and did
nothing to stop the children. I began taking photos and the children
responded by directing their attacks at me. One settler girl spat in my
direction while several others made faces or mocking body postures toward me.
Three girls, at different times, stepped several feet closer and threw a
stone directly at me.
A settler boy, aged about four, came up to me, held a stone high over
his head and looked as if he was about to throw it. As I pulled up my camera he
tucked his stone behind his back and stared at me defiantly. I said,
"Shabbat Shalom" ("peaceful sabbath", a common greeting) to him. He paused
for a moment, almost smiling back at me. Then he abruptly turned and walked
away. The children continued with their jeering.
Eventually, more soldiers came to help the frustrated and embarrassed
soldier. They were nearly as ineffectual as he had been. While the soldiers
tried to shoo the children, an Israeli police van drove up. I knew the
officer on the passenger side from previous contact and he recognized me.
As the settler boys and girls surrounded me, all talking at once to the
officer in Hebrew, he and I joked around in English. Eventually, he asked me
what I was doing there. I told him the children had been throwing stones.
He smiled and said sarcastically, "What? These children threw stones?
These beautiful children?" and shrugged.
Although, of course, I didn't want the soldiers to attack the settler
children either, the different treatment of settler and Palestinian children
did make me curious. "You know," I told the officer with a smile, "that's
interesting, because just down the road I saw other beautiful children
throwing stones. Only the soldiers shot rubber bullets and smoke bombs at
them."
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the
Brethren, Mennonite congregations of North America.
27 September 1995
"IDF drags arrested Palestinian boy along ground"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- A Palestinian boy was arrested yesterday for throwing
stones at the IDF (Israel Defense Force). After he escaped, with the help of
onlookers, and was re-captured, Israeli soldiers pulled the boy by his arms
so that his body dragged on the ground.
For the past two weeks, sporatic clashes have errupted between Palestinian
youth and the IDF in Hebron. Yesterday afternoon, after about 20 calm
minutes, several Israeli soldiers approached a taxi. They pulled out one of
the passengers -- a Palestinian boy aged approximately ten years old.
Several soldiers walked with the boy, one gripping the back of his neck, to a
nearby military jeep. A Palestinian man, aged about 55, ran over to the
soldiers and grabbed the child. The soldiers and the man pulled back and
forth while the boy screamed. The child began yelling, "What's happening?"
The adult, with the help of other onlookers, managed to take the boy away
from the soldiers.
The soldiers went after the boy and re-captured him. One soldier held each
of his wrists and the two of them dragged him along the ground while he
struggled. After several minutes, some Palestinians were able to pull him to
his feet. The soldiers then took the boy down an alley to a nearby military
checkpoint and an awaiting jeep.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the
Brethren, Mennonite congregations of North America.
Sept. 28, 1995
Open Letter to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
To: The Honorable Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Re: Increased Violence in Hebron
At dusk on 22 September 1995, Palestinian Medicha Abu Heikal, age 55 and
grandmother of three, was walking near her home in the Tel Rumeida area when
she was stoned by Israeli settlers. The group of teen-aged settlers were
armed and wielded sticks and belts. They threw stones at Medicha. One
baseball-size stone hit Medicha in the forehead, above her right eye. The
soldiers who witnessed the incident did nothing in response.
At 8 pm Hani Abu Heikal, Medicha's 26 year old son, found out about the
incident. He phoned the Israeli police who informed Hani that there were no
officers available, and no police would be sent to investigate. Mr. Jamiil
Abu Heikal, Medicha's husband, left the house to speak with the Israeli
military officer and the soldiers who were standing at the checkpoint at the
time of the assault. The army officer told Mr. Abu Heikal to go back to his
home and keep quiet. Shortly afterwards, three settlers stood at the gate of
the Abu Heikal home and threatened the family. The settlers were identified
as David Shilansky, Sarah Marzel, and Baruch Marzel. They shouted threats:
"We will kill you. We will come and do as Baruch Goldstein."
Hani Abu Heikal decided he had had enough. When the settlers left the gate
of his home, Hani and his sister Hanna went out of the house to speak with
the soldiers who witnessed the incident. Holding a metal pipe in his hand,
Hani told the soldiers that if the Israeli police did not come to respond to
the assault of his mother and the harassment of his family by the settlers,
he would take the law into his own hands. The soldiers ordered Hani and
Hanna back to their home, and they complied. The soldiers called the police
who arrived promptly at 8.30 pm and arrested Hani and Hanna Abu Heikal.
Later in the evening, Medicha Abu Heikal was taken by soldiers to the police
station to file a complaint against the settlers who assaulted her. After a
four hour detention, Hani and Hanna Abu Heikal were released on NIS 500 (165
US dollars) bond per person. The stone to Medicha's head did not break the
skin but resulted in an egg-shaped bump, raised about 1/2 inch from the
surface of the skin. The morning after the assault, she was taken to the
hospital for treatment of internal bleeding of the injury.
Since our arrival in Hebron in June 1995, the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT)
has witnessed numerous forms of violence used by armed Israeli settlers
against the Palestinian residents of Hebron, including stoning, verbal
insults, and physical attack. Who holds the settlers accountable for violent
acts directed toward Palestinians? We have observed that Israeli soldiers
who witness settler violence toward Palestinians do nothing in response, as
was the case for Medicha Abu Heikal on 22 September 1995. We understand
that it is the responsibility of the police to protect Palestinians from
settler attack, and to respond promptly and effectively when harassment and
assault occur. We have observed that the police are caught between the
manipulation of the armed settlers, and the mandate of the law.
Furthermore, there are apparently not enough police to respond quickly when
settler assaults on Palestinians occur.
During this interim period in which the settlers are allowed to remain in
Hebron, the Christian Peacemaker Team calls for: 1) immediate disarmament of
the settlers in the city center of Hebron, in Qiryat Arba settlement, and in
settlements surrounding the city; 2) preventive measures to be taken by
Israeli police to protect Palestinians from settler attack; and 3) prompt and
effective response by Israeli police to emergency calls for help and formal
complaints filed against settlers who harass and harm Palestinian residents
of Hebron.
We ask that you do all in your power to halt the violence in the city of
Hebron.
Respectfully,
Christian Peacemaker Team, Hebron
Kathy Kern Wendy Lehman
Carmen Pauls Hedy Sawadsky
Phone: 050 397 506 Mailing Address: PO Box 326 Hebron
West Bank
30 September 1995
"Israeli settlers assault Christian Peacemaker Team members"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli settlers assaulted Christian Peacemaker
Team members Kathleen Kern (33) and Wendy Lehman (24) today at approximately
2:30 pm. After hitting and kicking the CPTers, one settler stole Kern's camera.
Settlers attacked Palestinians throughout the city today in an upsurge
of violence. Settlers broke the windows in approximately 13 cars and attacked
an estimated five Palestinian homes. Kern and Lehman were on Deboyya Street,
near the Israeli settlements of Tel Rumeida and Beit Hadassah, like CPTers
are every Saturday in an effort to deter violence.
At approximately 2 pm, Lehman went down the road toward the Israeli
military checkpoint outside Beit Hadassah. Settlers were throwing bottles at
Palestinian shopkeepers there. After the IDF (Israel Defense Force) ordered
them to leave, the settlers marched past Lehman in the direction of Kern, who
had stayed up the road.
About 20 settler men from the group suddenly ran at Kern, yelling what
she described as a "battle cry." One pulled the kaffiyeh (an Arabic scarf)
which was tied to her backpack and she fell to the ground. Several other
settlers spit at her as she lay on her back.
When she got up, she began to take photos of them. They yelled at
her to stop. One settler grabbed her camera and they struggled over it. Lehman
arrived at the scene then and took one photo before attempting to assist
Kern. The settler punched Kern in the left ear and she fell down. Lehman
joined in the struggle for the camera and was also pulled to the ground.
Both CPTers were pulled along the road by the settler as they held onto
the camera strap. Lehman was kicked from behind by settlers -- once in the
lower back and once at the base of the skull. The main attacking settler began
pounding the camera on the ground -- as Lehman reached for it, he stomped on
her hand with his foot.
Kern screamed for help. No one came. No one was at the Israeli
military checkpoint outside Beit Hadassah, which was within view about 20
meters away. Normally, this checkpoint is attended by at least two Israeli
soldiers. Eventually, the settler wrestled Kern's camera from them and ran
in the direction of Beit Hadassah settlement.
After the settler fled, Kern and Lehman noticed a soldier had arrived
at the checkpoint and reported the incident to him. The soldier called his
officer over to the group. While Kern and Lehman were talking to him, a settler
youth approached the CPTers and asked them what happened.
"You were there," Kern said through tears, "You know what happened."
He shook his head and Lehman told him, "About 20 settlers just assaulted
us."
"Ah," he said, "very good." He laughed and walked away.
Lehman went to call the Israeli police. She reported what happened
and the officer on the phone told her, "Well, come up tomorrow to make a
complaint."
"No," she said, "I think you better come now."
Just then, a police jeep arrived, apparently called by locals. Lehman
hung up the phone.
Lehman and Kern were taken in the same police jeep with one of the
attackers to make a complaint at the Hebron police station. The main attacker
was not, at this time, apprehended because he was no longer at the scene.
After arriving at the police station, one police officer told the
CPTers how much he hated dealing with the settlers. "See," he pointed to his
pant legs, "I just got egged by them."
"Do you want the settlers to leave Hebron?" Lehman asked.
"Yes," he said, "along with us [the police]."
Later, an American living in Hebron reported to CPTers Carmen Pauls
and Hedy Sawadsky, "I'm so sorry I didn't warn you. A friend of mine at
Kiryat Arba [settlement] told me the settlers would attack you today but I
didn't take it seriously."
Kern and Lehman were later medically treated for minor
injuries.
Kryss Chupp
11 October 1995
"Israeli police slow to respond to Palestinians' complaint"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli settler youth from Tel Rumeida settlement
attacked two Palestinian children today at 12 pm. At 3 pm, two Palestinian
women were delayed by the IDF (Israel Defense Force) from returning to their
home near the settlement; while they waited, settler youth stoned them.
Approximately seven or eight Israeli settler children, aged seven to 12,
attacked Palestinians Wusam Abu Haikel (five years old) and Fadi Idajani
(four years old) as they returned to their home near Tel Rumeida. One
settler slapped Wusam on the face and several settler youth threw stones at
both Palestinian children, hitting them. The assault occurred next to an
Israeli military checkpoint, but the soldiers did nothing to stop the attack,
said witnesses. The Abu Haikel family phoned the Israeli police, but there
was no answer.
Three hours later, Wusam's mother Hannah (37 years old) and aunt Lena
(28 years old) attempted to return home but were prevented by the Israeli
soldiers at the checkpoint. More than ten settler children threw stones at
the women, they said, but the soldiers did not stop the assault. Hannah was
hit in the right ankle by a stone.
When Christian Peacemaker Team members arrived at 4:25 pm, Hannah's
ankle was already swollen. CPTers phoned the Israeli police and reported the
incident. An Israeli police officer told CPTer Wendy Lehman, "What do you
want me to do about it?"
"You're the police, aren't you supposed to handle these problems?"
Lehman asked.
The officer gave her another number to call, which was busy.
At about 4:30 pm, an Israeli border police jeep arrived. A police
officer stepped out of the vehicle and asked the soldiers why the Palestinians
were not allowed to pass. A soldier reported that these were their orders. The
officer told the soldier to remove the barbed wire blocking the women and to
let them return home. The soldier complied.
Two weeks earlier, CPTers issued an urgent action alert calling for an
immediate response by the Israeli police to settler violence against the
Palestinian residents of the Tel Rumeida area. The action alert came after
the police failed to respond to a complaint, similar to today's, made by the
Abu Haikel family.
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations participating in public response
to organized violence.
11 October 1995
"Residents of Hebron respond to Oslo 2 peace agreements"
by Wendy Lehman
HEBRON, WEST BANK -- On September 28, world leaders met in Washington,
D.C. for the signing of the Oslo 2 peace accords between Israel and the PLO
(Palestinian Liberation Organization). During this interim period the
Israeli settlers will be permitted to stay within the city under IDF (Israel
Defense Force) protection. Neither Palestinians nor settlers living in
Hebron seem content with the agreements.
Most, if not all, Palestinians call for the evacuation of the Hebron
settlers who are known even by other West Bank settlers as radical. Most are
armed with an Uzi and/or a sidearm and some have used or threatened to use
their weapons against Palestinians. Because of the settler presence,
following Oslo 2 approximately 40 percent of the old city -- 5-6 percent of
the entire city -- will remain under direct Israeli control after the
six-month withdrawal period. According to the Palestinian National Authority
Ministry of Information, "The Israeli government embarked on finding a
solution, whereby all the [Palestinian] inhabitants of Hebron, estimated at
140,000 persons, will be governed by a handful of Jewish settlers, totaling
400 persons."
The only significant difference made by the signing of Oslo 2, said
Palestinian journalist Naji Dana, is that now "they are giving legitimacy for
the [Israeli] occupation, for dividing the city."
Palestinians believe the continuing harassment and physical attacks of
settlers will get worse as the settlers feel more secure in their position
here. After returning from the peace talks in Taba, Egypt, Israeli minister
Yossi Beilin told Ma'ariv newspaper, "The situation of the settlements has
never been better since the Oslo Accord was created."
On September 30, two days after the signing, Hebron faced an upsurge in
settler violence. Settlers damaged approximately 13 Palestinian cars and
five homes. Palestinian residents reported assaults against them. Christian
Peacemaker Team members Kathleen Kern and I were also attacked by a group of
about 20 settler men. They first attacked Kern, throwing her to the ground.
After Kern took a photo of her attackers, one of them punched her in the
left ear and jaw. When I came to help Kern, settlers pulled me to the ground
and kicked me in the base of the skull and lower back. The settlers stole
Kern's camera before fleeing the scene.
This type of mistreatment is common for Palestinians, although it
doesn't get as much media attention. As Hillel Barak, an Israeli Jewish
peaceworker from Jerusalem, said, "It [the settler presence in Hebron] is
like members of the Klu Klux Klan coming to live in a Jewish neighborhood.
It doesn't exactly create a peaceful atmosphere."
The settlers, for their part, have promised resistance if the
Palestinian police are permitted, as stated in Oslo 2, to come to Hebron. On
August 11, settler spokesperson Noam Arnon said that if the Palestinian police
come to Hebron, "we [the settlers] are not going to accept it, we will not
cooperate in any way."
Many settlers have reported that Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
does not speak for them as he deals with a "terrorist organization" like the
PLO. On September 23, Israeli settler Azrael Moshe Ben Israel said, "We are at
war. We are at war with these people [Palestinians]."
Palestinian contacts for CPT have reported that they would welcome
Jews to Hebron, but the current settlers must leave. In light of recent settler
threats and acts of violence, it seems apparent that the settlers should, at
the very least, be disarmed. As Palestinian resident of the Tel Rumeida
settlement area Fariel Abu Haikel said, "Once there was much friendship
between Jews and Muslims here. It is again possible if they [Israelis] live
without weapons."
Wendy Lehman (24) joined Christian Peacemaker Teams in January, committing to
a three-year term. She was in Bethlehem, under CPT, in February and March
and has been with the Hebron team since it began in June. The four-person
team is stationed in Hebron to serve as a violence-deterring presence.
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and
Brethren congregations participating in public response to organized
violence.
[This is approximately 10% of the material I could have posted.]
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