a-Tuwani people are attacked by the settlers of Havat Maon
We went to a-Tuwani to hear about what happened there on Saturday when they were attacked by the settlers of Havat Maon.
Because of the tension in Hebron, we decided to not to go there, but hear Idris's story through the phone.
Severe clash with the military. In H1 a large amount of gas grenades were thrown and there were many injuries and arrests earlier this week, and it does not seem to be calming down.
a-Tuwani:
We sat with Nasser Adra (the windows of his car are shattered from previous events, still in the backyard). And this is his story:
On Saturday morning the 8.5 again about 15 people with dogs came to the cistern where their shepherds and also ones from Umm Fakara were. They cursed the Palestininian and threw stones into the well. The cistern is used by the flocks and people for drinking. But the settlers go into the cistern knowing that the water is also used for human consumption. The shepherds went home because they did not want to warm the atmosphere.
At 4:30 in the afternoon, the shepherds went out again. The settlers arrived again. They made themselves comfortable and started cursing the shepherd, telling them that this is not their land and they have to get out. Stones were thrown again. Nasser accompanied by volunteers from Israel arrived and then the settlers left but other settlers took their place.
Finally the army and police arrived. Nasser Nawaja'a was injured in the stone-throwing and the Council Chairman of a-Tawani, Muhammad, was injured in his leg.
Nasser says the settlers wanted to beat the shepherd up. But the arrival of Basel and Nasser made them simply walk away and settle for throwing stones, until dark. Then the settlers got closer and closer to Juma'a's mother's house. Towards evening the army threw a gas grenade from where they had positioned themselves on the farm overlooking the houses of a-Tuwani which were nearest to them. Only between 6 and 9 in the evening did the police arrive to calm things down.
But since then the villagers are constantly on guard, afraid of further attacks in the areas between the village and the settlement, and are afraid that the settlers are trying to make a temporary settlement near the most extreme house of the village (there was a time when they built a tent there and settled down and they seem to be trying to take over these areas).
On Monday, May 10th, the army and police again returned the settlers to the farm.
Throughout the last period, we have witnessed the settlers' attempts to expand the settlement areas and enter other areas in a blatant and violent manner.