Tell Israeli government to stop settler attacks on Palestinian schoolchildren, CPTers and other international accompaniers!

 
For the second time in ten days, masked men from the Ma'on settlement have attacked internationals who have accompanied Palestinians to and from school. The September 30, 2004 attack resulted in a broken knee and arm for CPTer Kim Lamberty and a punctured lung for CPTer Chris Brown. This afternoon, settlers attacked CPTers Diane Janzen and Diana Zimmerman and Amnesty International field researcher Donatella Rovera with wooden sticks and then attacked a volunteer from Operation Dove, an Italian peace group, breaking his arm (he was videotaping the assault.)

Settlers from Ma'on have been trying to drive out the Palestinian residents of this remote area in the Hebron District for years, physically assaulting them, killing their livestock and burning their crops. Because settler harassment of Palestinian children on their way to school in al-Tuwani had become progressively more vicious, CPT, along with Operation Dove and Taayush, an Israeli peace group, set up an accompaniment project beginning on September 12, 2004.

CPT is asking its supporters to fax or call the Israeli ambassadors to Canada and the U.S., saying they are aware of the attacks on the CPTers. (Canadians, note that Diane Janzen is a Canadian citizen.) Ask the following questions:

* Why are the Israeli police not protecting Palestinian children traveling to school in al-Tuwani? Note that harassment of the children has been ongoing and that the police appear to be choosing not to prevent further settler attacks on international volunteers?

* What steps is the Israeli government taking to prevent these attacks?

* Why do the soldiers and settler security personnel prevent the children from walking on the road near Ma'on settlement to get to school, ignoring the permission the children have received from the Israeli District Coordinating Officer and the Israeli police to walk on that road?

* Does the Ambassador understand how allowing settlers to attack schoolchildren and internationals committed to nonviolence damages Israel's reputation?

People may also choose to fax Ariel Sharon, noting that he has closely aligned himself with settlers in the past, and asking him what steps he is taking to prevent further attacks. Note that he has ordered one of the Ma'on "outpost" settlements from which the attackers came demolished to appease the Bush administration.

Contacts

http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/israel1.htm

Israeli Ambassador to Canada, Haim Divon (Ottawa)
Fax: 613-237-8865
Phone: 613-567-6450

Israeli Ambassador to the United States: Danny Ayalon (Washington,DC)

fax: 202-364-5607

Phone:202-364-5500

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Fax: 011-972-2-651-2631

Update On Previous Attack
September 29, 2004

HEBRON DISTRICT: CPTers Kim Lamberty and Chris Brown badly injured by
settlers in the south Hebron hills

At about 7:15am on the morning of Wednesday September 29, 2004 settlers
attacked Christian Peacemaker Team members Chris Brown and Kim Lamberty as
they accompanied children to school.
The children, from the village of Tuba, have experienced harassment from
settlers in the past as they to school in the village of al-Tuwani.

The five settlers, dressed in black and wearing masks, came from an outpost
of the nearby Ma'on settlement and attacked Brown and Lamberty with a chain
and bat. All of the children escaped injury by running back to their homes.

The settlers pushed Brown to the ground, whipped him with a chain and kicked
him in the chest, which punctured his lung. They kicked and beat Lamberty's
legs. She is not able to walk because of an injury to her knee and has a
broken arm. The settlers also stole Lamberty's waistpack, which held her
passport, money and cellular phone.

Lamberty and Brown were taken by ambulance to Soroka hospital in Beer Sheva
for treatment. Hebron Team Support person, Rich Meyer, reports that the two
CPTers told him they are receiving excellent care from Israeli doctors.

Children from four small Palestinian villages walk to a central school in
the village of al-Tuwani. Because settlers have harassed the children since
school began in September, and the Israeli police would not intervene to
prevent the attacks, the villagers have sought the protection of
international accompaniment. A coalition comprising Christian Peacemaker
Teams, the Israeli group Tayush and members of Operation Dove, (an Italian
Christian organization that undertakes accompaniment work similar to CPT's
work), set up a presence in the village of al-Tuwani beginning on September
12, 2004. The three groups initially committed themselves to six weeks of
accompaniment after members of these organizations witnessed settler attacks
on children each time they made exploratory visits to the area.

Christian Peacemaker Teams, Operation Dove and Tayush plan to continue
accompanying children to school in al-Tuwani.

Journalists wishing more information may call Hebron Team Supporter person
Rich Meyer at 574-202 3920.

_______________

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches
(Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and
membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations.
Supporting violence-reduction efforts around the world is its mandate.
Contact CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680; Telephone: 773-277-0253 Fax:
773-277-0291; e-mail: peac...@cpt.org.