Hebron, Sansana (Meitar Crossing), South Hebron Hills
9.00 -12.30
We went to Herbon to investigate two happenings at the end of the week.
- A demonstration on Friday by Peace Now activists calling for the immediate evacuation of a building seized in the summer and for the of honoring the High Court's decision. This was met by a the group of the hooligans of Lahava and La Familia who came to reinforce the lawbreakers of Hebron; (I learned about this group in the morning when I got on the bus and the driver examined me and asked if I was not from MachsomWatch, and told me about his confrontation with the small "marked ones " in Hebron.)
An incident on Saturday, in which a settler boy was hit in the head by a stone while splashing with his friends in the spring and needed several stitches in his head before being released home.
We met with Issa Amro at Beit Michael, the Palestinian youth center. International volunteers were harvesting four olive trees in the area. The TIPH people came to record the testimony from Issa about the incident at the spring (which is under his house) and he told them that when he heard that a youth had been wounded he ran to the area to offer help, and instead he was removed by the police. He is also convinced that the police know who the young man was threw the stone, a violent young man who has nothing to do with the local Palestinians in the area. Following the incident, he said, the settlers set out on a campaign of rioting against the Palestinian houses under the hill of Harsina, and the army closed the road leading from Shuhada Street to the spring. On our way back, we did not see it closed.
On Friday, Issa joined the Peace Now demonstration but was ostensibly detained for questioning by a police superintendent. He who was released immediately when the demonstration was over, without casualties and the crowd dispersed.
Issa Amro added that the army was uses live bullets against the Palestinian youths. And a few days ago, 16 boys were arrested for throwing stone.They were put into a container, detained by the police and finally transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
On Friday at the Peace Now demonstration he was also detained for several hours.
We also visited the house of the Abu Shamsia family at the top of the road to Tel Rumeida following a report of stones thrown at his house. He looked very depressed and said that such harassment was a day to day occurrence.
The Old City - except for two groups of tourists - is desolate.
We went back through Road 317 and visited our friend Nabil in the grocery.
Many car in the parking lot and around Sansana-Meitar checkpoint.