Regular events: Accompanying Hani to and from school; school, noon, and afternoon patrols
In the morning, Border Police detained a Palestinian teacher and searched the bags of ten Palestinian children in ten minutes. Jessica Frederick spoke with three Border Police and one Blue Police officer and presented them with a legal position from the Civil Administration stating they could not search the bags of children on their way to or from school. One Border Police said, “Someone puts a bomb in the bag of a ‘little one,’ as you call them.”
Frederick, Christina Gibb, and Donna Hicks went to the Ibrahimiyye Boys’ School to meet with the headmaster and meet Hani (not his real name), a boy in a wheelchair that they are accompanying to school. A wall erected by the Israeli authorities prevents him from a direct route to his school (see Reflection: “Obstacles to School, Obstacles to Peace” 14 November.)
In addition, the headmaster told them Israeli soldiers tried to destroy the Palestinian Authority ID of a teacher they detained in the morning. Even though teachers have these special IDs that ought to get them through checkpoints without detention (in addition to IDs issued by the Israeli government), one of the Palestinian school staff said, “When he [the teacher] would take it [the special ID] out for a soldier, he would start laughing on (sic) him.”
Wednesday 24 October
On afternoon patrol, Frederick and Mary Wendeln caught up with three soldiers walking hurriedly through the market with a map in hand. The soldiers started down a hill and positioned themselves low on the ground with their guns aimed. They rapidly entered a nearby building and went up its steps. The soldiers, ahead of the CPTers, entered a home. Hearing them inside, Frederick opened the door and propped it open with her foot as Wendeln informed the soldiers they needed to leave as they did not show a search warrant. Frederick snapped a picture before a soldier pushed the door shut. After a few minutes, the soldiers left and took the stairs to a higher level in the building.
When they left the apartment, Frederick and Wendeln entered the home to find a visibly shaken mother with her 18-month-old son. Wendeln called Zleehka Muhtaseb, who translated for the woman. She said the soldiers came into the house unannounced and physically dragged her and her child from the laundry room to the living room. Muhtaseb told Frederick members of the family have connections to Hamas (one spent time in jail), so soldiers periodically harass them in their home. Frederick and Wendeln stayed with the family, sharing tea, cookies, dinner, and coffee with them. Finally, the soldiers exited the building.
Thursday 25 October
Delegation members went on school patrol with the team, including going to Qurtuba School. One delegate had an extended conversation with a soldier, whose brigade arrived in Hebron from Gaza. He said he liked being in Hebron better, because in Gaza soldiers did not interact with Palestinians. He said to the delegate, “They’re human beings. They have rights.”
Gibb and Wendeln went to Qurtuba school again for afternoon school patrol. Hisham Sharabati told them young men were burning tires and throwing stones in Bab iZaweyya. He said shopkeepers were going on strike, because a Palestinian prisoner had been killed in an Israeli jail the day before. The deputy principal dismissed the children as usual, despite the whiff of tear gas and sounds of percussion grenades from the direction of the checkpoint. The children and teachers were unable to travel freely home because the army had closed the checkpoint and some of the roads. Eventually, two TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron) members escorted them along a path and up a steep track where they were vulnerable to harassment by soldiers and attack by settlers from Tel Rumeida.
Frederick and Lorne Friesen accompanied Hani to and from school. They visited with a friend of Hani’s family. Years ago, one of his sons was at a checkpoint when Israeli soldiers shot and killed a child. This traumatized his son. When Friesen asked him if he studied a lot for school, the translator (a friend of the family) explained the trauma he experienced had made studying difficult; he now has a very poor memory. The translator said, “They [the Israeli soldiers] ruined his future.”
At about 3pm, Hicks and Gibb went out on patrol to see what was happening in Bab iZaweyya. A rubber bullet had hit someone in the neck. He was not seriously hurt, refusing to go in an ambulance. The CPTers saw a group of boys running towards the checkpoint. One by one, they ran and threw their stones, then ran out of sight. The army retaliated from the checkpoint with tear gas canisters and percussion grenades. The tear gas overcame an older man, who lay in the street while passers by administered first aid.
Friday 26 October
After a short prayer, the delegation and the team headed for the Al Jabari and Da’na lands to pick olives. One ISM (International Solidarity Movement) member tried to conduct interviews with Palestinians and some Israeli settlers. The ISMer said Palestinians would not give interviews, because “they were arrested the last time” they gave interviews.
On their way home, at the Mosque checkpoint, CPTers saw border police restraining an elderly Palestinian man by pulling at his clothes, while they laughed at him. Gibb confronted the soldiers and told them their behaviour was disgraceful. One of the soldiers said it was only a joke; they were just having fun. Gibb said it was not a joke for the man, and they had a responsibility to respect Palestinian civilians, who are also children of God.
Saturday 27 October
While on CPT’s roof, Mary Rose and a soldier on duty on the roof across the road began chatting. Rose offered the soldier a brochure to describe the work of CPT. They decided to meet in Shuhada Street, so Rose asked Muhtaseb for access through her house. The two went to Muhtaseb’s front door. After aggressive settler adolescents confronted them and a soldier questioned them about using the door, the other soldier arrived to collect the brochure.
When Jan Benvie and Hicks approached the Gutnick Center checkpoint at around 4pm, they observed four Israeli border police surrounding a Palestinian man, forcing him to remove his trousers. As the CPTers approached, the Border Police stepped back from the man. Not wanting to embarrass him, Benvie and Hicks walked past, but stayed in a position to monitor the situation. Half an hour later, Israeli authorities released him.
As Benvie and Hicks returned home, a patrol of six soldiers appeared from the market, not far from their home. One soldier asked Benvie “Are you hiding terrorists in your house?” She explained CPT is against violence and that they worked for peace.
Team members during this period included: Jan Benvie, Jessica Frederick, Lorne Friesen, Christina Gibb, Donna Hicks, Jonathan Stucky, Mary Wendeln, and Mary Rose, a guest from New Zealand
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