With the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron

from: Tony Davies

Oct 31st 2002.

With three other Quakers from Britain, I took a minibus from East Jerusalem to Hebron. When we reached the turning into the town there were surly settlers with guns who ordered us out of the minibus and demanded the ID cards of the Palestinians. When they let us back in, one of the settlers saw me getting my camera ready on my lap and demanded it. When it was explained that I had not taken a photo he was placated. He asked if I was a journalist. I said no and he let us go on our way. The settlers have no right to do this, but the law here is gun law. The settlements, of which we passed a number on the way from Jerusalem, occupy a large area of the Occupied Territories and are all illegal under international law, built on land stolen from the Palestinians by force.At the edge of Hebron we had to leave the minibus and scramble over a road block the Israelis had made with a bulldozer [Photo 1]. We then had a walk a mile and a half to where we are staying with the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) people who have invited us here, and with whom one of our team of four will spend most of his three months in Isr/Pal. As we walked down to and through Hebron we were welcomed by many people, though small boys threw small stones at us. They throw a lot of stones at the hated Israeli police and army vehicles which patrol through the West Bank occupied territories. Though the adults make it clear that they are pleased to see us, Palestinians must feel some ambivalence because of US and UK support for Israel.

Down in the town of Hebron we found that girls who had just come out of school were being prevented from going home. When asked what the problem was, soldiers told us that there had recently been a shooting in the centre of town and that there was therefore a curfew and no one could cross the extra road blocks which had been set up. Two of us stayed with the children to reduce the likelihood of them being shot at. After about three quarters of an hour they were permitted to go home, and we went on to the CPT flat.

As we walked there we went through 2 road blocks manned by soldiers with automatic guns. Because of the curfew we met few people. It is good that so far during this curfew, now on for three days, the children have been allowed to go to school. In the centre of Hebron which, apart from the settlements and road blocks, is a small picturesque old town a bit the worse for ware due to shelling of buildings, we passed a big banner in Hebrew saying: "Hebron is now all ours." A number of settlers and visiting Jews were being bussed into the centre of the town to where Abraham is buried as there is a Jewish religious festival. During this time the Palestinians are being kept confined to their houses.

Life in the CPT flat is basic but congenial. There is no hot water and water is limited for us and the Palestinians, but not for the Israelis in the settlements who may have green lawns and swimming pools. The Israelis in these illegal settlements use 85% of the water in the West Bank.

Particularly during curfew, food availability is restricted. In the afternoon we walked round Hebron. Because of the curfew it was deserted apart from a few boys and one or two adults. One boy was blotting a bleeding calf where he said he had been hit by a rubber bullet. We saw a neighbour who had a bandaged arm after being shot at this morning. He had an X-ray on which I could see no bony damage. These people would have disappeared if they had heard police vehicles or army armoured personnel carriers coming. The army has been using APCs converted from Centurion tanks sold to Israel by Britain on the understanding that they would not be used in the Occupied Territories.

We came across soldiers detaining a Palestinian because he had returned home during the curfew in his car with a bundle of carpets. After talking with the soldiers, who told us to go indoors, we left two of our group with him to reduce the chance of him being assaulted or arrested. One of the CPT people told the soldiers that CPT had been here as international human rights observers for 7 years, and that they would stay with this man, curfew or no curfew. While we were there the soldiers took the man's car keys (he probably had copies against this eventuality). After an hour he was allowed to go on his way.

Just near the CPT flats there is a house which has recently been occupied by settlers. They drove the Palestinian owners out at gun point. The Palestinians complained to the police and the army then evicted the settlers. But they have returned and the army has taken no further action. A bit further away is a doctor's house, the top floor of which has been taken over by the army so they can command the centre of Hebron. They have a good view of some shops which have obviously been fired at repeatedly.

We talked to soldiers at the road blocks. Most were pretty fed up. Two volunteered that they much disliked being here. The CPTers say that the army is short of personnel for all the work (oppression) they have undertaken in the Occupied Territories - the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

On BBC World Service news this evening we hear that the new defence minister is a hard line ex general. Poor Palestinians; it seems their suffering cannot get much worse but it does.