Saturday 5th March
9:00 am – Shepherds from At-Tuwani and Mfakkara take their sheep to graze near Avigail. Two IDF jeeps and one police jeep arrive and allow the shepherds to stay.
11.00 am – Three settlers come from Avigail outpost and walk toward a sheperd who was grazing his sheep 300 meters from the outpost. One of the settlers came within 10 meters of the shepherd, shouting at him and forcing him to walk back few meters. A miltary vehicle and a police jeep (n. 22-578) were present.
Later (13:00), a Hummer arrives and is identified by Mfakkara shepherds as the one which came to their village on the night of March 1st and threatened them. Volunteers talk to the soldiers about this and they deny knowing anything about it. At the same time, one of the soldiers threatens an At-Tuwani shepherd, telling him, “If you don’t leave, we’ll come to your village at night like we did in Mfakkara.â€?
12:30 am – Internationals, including Tayush and ISM are in the village of Qawawis when 20 settlers arrive in cars and occupy the only building in the village, singing songs. They threaten some of the volunteers from ISM. Police and army vehicles arrive and tell the internationals that they must leave the village. ISM hides in a cave for the next three hours. Settlers are in the house for close to 3 hours and eventually leave on their own. There are no arrests by the police.
When ISM finally leaves the cave, they are immediately spotted by a settler from a nearby hill. The police return, take their IDs and threaten to arrest them. ISM leaves the village and returns to At-Tuwani.
12.40 am – NO PATROL FOR THE CHILDREN from At-Tuwani to Tuba.
Some volunteers from Operatuion Dove and Christian Peacemaker Teams called the police office in Kiryat Arba at 13.00. The police office said that one vehicle was coming.
1.00 pm – The volunteers called again and the office said that they would check why no patrol had arrived. At 14.00 the volunteers called again and were told that no one would be coming because there were other, more immediate needs, in the area.
1.30 pm – Eleven Israeli civilian vehicles drive through At-Tuwani coming from M’fakkara direction.
The drivers stopped and took a short meeting together before to continue.
14:30 am Volunteers and members of Tayush decide to walk with the 13 children, taking the short path between Havot Maon and Maon. When they return, they are met by a military vehicle and the settlement security.
Sunday 6th march
7.30 am – 13 children walking from Tuba to At-Tuwani. Miltary jeep patrolling with two soldiers walking.
10.00 am – A white civilian Israeli car (n. 4710950) with 4 soldiers inside patrolled the 13 children walking from At-Tuwani to Tuba. No soldiers walking.
11.00 am – A white civilian Israeli car (n. 4710950) arrives and passes by shepherds who are grazing their sheep on At-Tuwani land that is 200 meters far from the settlement of Maon.
11.30 am - The civilian military car returns and tells the shepherds to leave the area. The volunteers and Palestinians ask to see the military order, but the soldiers say they have no paper. The shepherds move back a little and the civilian car leaves.
4.00 pm – The civilian military car returns and finds the shepherds in the area again. The soldiers say that the area was Military Closed Zone. Some volunteers from OD and CPT ask to show the miltary order and it is refused. The volunteers then state that they will have to report the soldiers because it is illegal not to present the paper. The soldiers get angry and threaten to arrest the Palestinian shepherd, telling everyone that the police have been called. The shepherd refuses to leave without seeing the paper. After a 40 minute discussion the soldiers take the ID of the shepherd and leave. After an hour and a half the soldiers come back to the village and give back the ID to one woman of At-Tuwani.
Monday 7 march
7.30 am – 12 children walking from Tuba to At-Tuwani. Military Jeep patrolling them with two soldiers walking
12.40 am – Two masked settlers come from the Maon settlement and attack, using stones and sticks, a shepherd, 5 women, and two children who are standing in the shepherd’s land opposite of Maon, near route 317. Two women were injured, one with 4 cuts in her head and another with a broken hand. 3 of the sheep were injured in the legs from stones which were thrown at the sheep. Before leaving to return to Maon, the two settlers stole food from the group of Palestinians. Some volunteers from OD and CPT waited for the police car with the victims. After an hour and a half the police car arrived and took the sheperd and the two injured women to the police office of Kiryat Arba to make a complaint.
This area is the same place that, on the 27th january, three volunteers from OD were given a death threat by settlers from Maon. (see the Press Release of 27th january 2005).
Around h. 16.00, a group of European tourists tried to visit the acheological site of Susya. Some settlers who have been living there for two years prevented them from entering, saying that the area forbidden to all impure people.
17.00 A military jeep (n. 610025) drove around all the street of the village of At-Tuwani.
Tuesday 8th march
7.30 am – 13 children walking from Tuba to At-Tuwani. A police jeep patrolled them, no policemen walking.
12.40 am – 13 children walking from At-Tuwani to Tuba. A police car patrolled them, driving very fast in some moments forcing the children to run behind it. No policemen walking with the children.
1.10 pm – A settlement’security car (n. 6758158) went up the hill of Karruba, where some OD and CPT were sitting. The settlers took some pictures of them. The volunteers went to him and start to talk. The settlers said that the area was forbidden for military reasons. After 5 minutes a military car arrived (n.610025). The officer showed them map and said that the hill is inside the military area 918 and that the volunteers could be shot for being there. The officer told the volunteers that they could only go to the old fence which is 50 meters from the hill in At-Tuwani direction.
One Operation Dove volunteer recognized the settler as the driver of the ambulance that took Cris Brown and Kim Lamberty on 29th september 2004 after the attack (see press release of 29th september 2004) , and even the driver that took Johannes Steger and Piergiorgio Rosetti the 16th february 2005 after the attack (see the Press Release of 16th february 2005). Speaking with some Israelis, the volunteers discovered that the ambulance that took the injured in the both cases is based in the settlement of Carmel, just 5 kilometers away from both attacks. In both occasions the ambulance took more than 40 minutes to arrive at the people who were injured.
Wendsday 9th march
7.30 am – 13 children walking from Tuba to At-Tuwani. Police jeep patrolling them, driving very fast in some part of the route so forcing the children to run behind it. For two times after drove fast, the police jeep stopped and a policeman sitting in the back of the car spoke with the children. At 7.25 a settler ‘s car drove through At-Tuwani village going to Havat Maon outpost. It met the children on the road.
8.00 am – The settler’s car drove back from Havat Maon to At-Tuwani
village, slowing near the clinic of the village.
12.20 am – 13 children waiting in the village the patrol.
1.20 pm- A police jeep arrived to patrol the children, after volunteers from OD and CPT called the police office in Kiryat Arba two times.
Thursday 10th march
7.30 pm – THE CHILDREN DIDN’T GO TO SCHOOL BECAUSE OF TOO MUCH RAIN.
The volunteers of OD and CPT called the father of the children to be sure that nothing happened.
At 7.40 they saw a miltary jeep driving on the path between Tuba and At-Tuwani.
11.00 am – A military jeep drove through the village.
12.30 am – A settler’s security car (n.9153024) forced a palestinian shepherd away from his land between At-Tuwani and Maon settlement, in a place far around 200 meters from the Maon settlement. After some minutes arrived a military jeep (n.610025) that asked the shepherds to leave as a favor to the settlers, but also said that the land is not forbidden or military area.
Friday 11th march
10.00 am – a military jeep forced a shepherd away from land in the area of Avigail outpost.
Saturday 12th march
7.30 am – 10 children walking from Tuba to At-Tuwani. Military jeep patrolled them, two soldiers walking.
During the day, some shepherds graze their sheep between At-Tuwani village and Maon settlement, in the same place where the settler and soldiers forced away the shepherd. They stand many hours, and the soldiers came 3 times, but said in the end that they could stay because the area is not forbidden or military area.
Sunday 13th March
10:00 am – The shepherds choose to graze their flocks nearby Qarruba.
10:45 am – The shepherds are between the second fence and the beginning of the Qarruba valley. The settlement’s security man comes with his car and claims that Palestinians violate the borders. He calls the army.
11:00 am – it arrives an IDF jeep (4 soldiers). They threat, without explaination, internationals (ODers and CPTers) and sheperds, talking unclearly about a not well-defined military closed zone. Oders and CPTers required them to show up military maps, but the answer was a promise to bring it in a following time. Sheperds do not leave.
11:20 am – The IDF jeep leave. Next to the entrance of the Havath Ma’on outpost, on the Qarruba side, the jeep, while leaving, stops, soldiers get off the car, and they begin to talk with 2 settlers. From distance soldiers, while talking with settlers, observe the Palestinian people.
12:30 am – the sheperds are all around the second fence, before the valley of Qarruba. The settlement’s security comes again with his car. He claims that Palestinians violate the borders. He calls the army.
1:00 pm – It arrives an IDF jeep (numberplate 611238) with an officer and 3 soldiers. The brigade officer impose a military closed zone, defined by the last olive trees line. They wait for sheperds to eat.
Monday 14th March
9:45 am – the sheppards choose to graze their flocks in the valley behind the clinic of At-Tuwani. Some flocks graze not far from the main road n.317. On the other side of the road the Jawaia’s people graze their flocks.
10:20 am – a settler’s car, directed to Gush’Etzion, stops in the road. The settler get off from the car and started taking pictures. After 20 minutes he left.
10:30 am – the settlement’s security comes with his car. He claims that Palestinians violate the borders. He calls the army. The army does not come. After 20 minutes he leaves.
11:40 am – An IDF jeep (numberplate 610025) comes with 3 soldiers. They stop 2 At-Tuwani sheperds. The officer asks identity documents to one of them, and detains it.
12:40 am – they release him an hour later. The officer declared that they were just going for the kids patrolling, while they saw sheperds crossing the valley. So they stopped. They declared the sheperds should never go beyond that valley.
1:30 pm – the international volunteers leave the area to patrol sheperds below the Havath Ma’on forest.
In the evening we were referred from At-Tuwani sheperds that Jawaia’s sheperds were beaten in their land, after being shot, from 2 settlers. This fact happened around 14:00 o’clock. The people who mentioned the fact, declared to have heard the shotgun fire and screams.
Tuesday 15th March
7.30 am – one police jeep patrols the children from Tuba to the school. No policeman walks with the children.
12.30 am – one police jeep patrols the children from the school to Tuba. No policeman walks with the children.
Wednesday 16th March
7.30 am – one police jeep patrols the children from Tuba. No policeman walks with the children.
10:00 am – the sheperds choose to graze their flocks in the valley behind the clinic of At-Tuwani. Some flocks graze not far from the main road. On the other side of the road the Jawaia people graze their flocks.
11:00 am – International Volunteers stay with two Jawaia and two At Tuwani sheperds on the other side of the road on the Jawaia land.
11:30 am – one settler, not armed, show up. He walks up to the valley, and he sits looking with a binocular while the Jawaia sheperds graze their flocks,
100 mt from him.
12:00 am – the settler leaves.
12.30 am – one police jeep patrols the children from the school to Tuba. No policeman walks with the children.
12:35 am – the same settler walks back, from Ma’on settlement, to the same place where he sat before. International volunteers and At-Tuwani sheperds watch from the valley behind the clinic.
