Christian Peacemaker Teams. 15th July, 2007. Just after 11:00 am on Wednesday 11th July, the Israeli military closed a main gate in the H2 area (1) of Hebron, preventing the free movement of Palestinians and international tourists. The military stated that they were closing the gate because of the presence of international monitors [Temporary International Presence in Hebron (www.tiph.org), an international monitoring team officially recognized by Israel and the Palestinian Authority] beside the nearby checkpoint. This action constitutes an act of collective punishment, a clear violation of international law (2).
At 11:10am an international monitor called the Christian Peacemaker Team office in Hebron to inform them that the Israeli military had closed the gate leading from the Old City to the Ibrahimi mosque.
When CPTers Jan Benvie and Esther Kern arrived at the closed gate, approximately 33 people were waiting to pass through the gate from the Old City. Many of those waiting were children on their way home from the nearby mosque soup kitchen, which provides soup and bread every day for families in need. Also among the crowd were 4 Swiss and 2 Austrian visitors hoping to visit the mosque/synagogue complex.
At 11.35 two international monitors on the other side of the gate called Benvie to advise her that they had been detained by the Israeli police and were being taken to Kiryat Arba police station.
Eventually, at 11:45 am, at least 35 minutes after they had closed the gate, the Israeli military unlocked and opened the gate. Among the 25 or so people who the Israelis had detained on the mosque side of the gate were at least ten children on their way to the soup kitchen with their empty containers.
Benvie and Kern followed the crowd through the checkpoint. They asked the border police on duty why the gate had been locked. One police officer replied "It is closed because the TIPH men, they butt into our work" and another said "You make a mess for us."
An Israeli border police sergeant tried to stop Benvie and Kern from standing in the area in front of the mosque or taking photographs. He approached Benvie, who was video-taping, and initially threatened to detain her if she did not leave the area. When she slowly walked away, he told her to stop and again threatened to arrest her. Eventually, after speaking with a civilian Israeli police officer, who declined to arrest Benvie, the border police officer walked away.
(1) Under the Hebron Protocol of 1997 the city is divided into H1, under Palestinian Authority Control, and H2, under full Israeli control.
(2) International law prohibits collective punishment, i.e., the punishment of persons for acts committed by others (article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 50 of the Hague Regulations)
At 11:10am an international monitor called the Christian Peacemaker Team office in Hebron to inform them that the Israeli military had closed the gate leading from the Old City to the Ibrahimi mosque.
When CPTers Jan Benvie and Esther Kern arrived at the closed gate, approximately 33 people were waiting to pass through the gate from the Old City. Many of those waiting were children on their way home from the nearby mosque soup kitchen, which provides soup and bread every day for families in need. Also among the crowd were 4 Swiss and 2 Austrian visitors hoping to visit the mosque/synagogue complex.
At 11.35 two international monitors on the other side of the gate called Benvie to advise her that they had been detained by the Israeli police and were being taken to Kiryat Arba police station.
Eventually, at 11:45 am, at least 35 minutes after they had closed the gate, the Israeli military unlocked and opened the gate. Among the 25 or so people who the Israelis had detained on the mosque side of the gate were at least ten children on their way to the soup kitchen with their empty containers.
Benvie and Kern followed the crowd through the checkpoint. They asked the border police on duty why the gate had been locked. One police officer replied "It is closed because the TIPH men, they butt into our work" and another said "You make a mess for us."
An Israeli border police sergeant tried to stop Benvie and Kern from standing in the area in front of the mosque or taking photographs. He approached Benvie, who was video-taping, and initially threatened to detain her if she did not leave the area. When she slowly walked away, he told her to stop and again threatened to arrest her. Eventually, after speaking with a civilian Israeli police officer, who declined to arrest Benvie, the border police officer walked away.
(1) Under the Hebron Protocol of 1997 the city is divided into H1, under Palestinian Authority Control, and H2, under full Israeli control.
(2) International law prohibits collective punishment, i.e., the punishment of persons for acts committed by others (article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 50 of the Hague Regulations)
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT's peacemaking work, visit our website www.cpt.org Photos of our projects are at www.cpt.org/
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