Deacon Dave in Hebron, Palestine

Weds 19 Mar

We all got calls from Al Tawani asking for international support there as the Israeli army was demolishing homes. I agreed to stay with Mohammad and everyone else took off for Al Tawani. 9 homes in four small villages were demolished using Caterpillar bulldozers and 2 caves were blocked off.

Those internationals left in Hebron took turns to be at Mohammad’s house. Around 4pm Arwa and I were alerted that the soldiers were back so we rushed over. There were about 20 soldiers and several Israeli police. By the time we arrived the internationals had been cleared from the courtyard. There were about 12 of us. We could see most of what was happening over a wall. After a lot of arguing police physically evicted Mohammad and his wife while his 3 small children were screaming. They then moved all the furniture and belongings into the kitchen, locked all the doors and welded shut the new metal ones. They say the family can access the kitchen in 14 days time. In the meantime the courtyard has been sealed off. Mohammad was arrested and ordered to pay 500 shekels for assaulting 2 police officers which he says he never did.

Two days before Yom Kippur police rounded up all the internationals on the streets and told us there was a new military order restricting us from being on the streets in all of H2 (the Israeli controlled zone) and some of the Old City. My friend Inspector Ilan Malke produced the relevant document with a blurry map showing the area covered. He was very nervous and refused to negotiate anything. He agreed that since we live he we had the right to be here but refused to specify exactly where we could and could not go. We figured we were only really being restricted from Shuhada St and Tel Rumeida; the streets the settlers use. Sure enough we had no trouble anywhere else. The reason given for the restriction was that we provoke settlers with our cameras !

One of the first things that struck me coming back is that the policing seems to have improved. Reem Sharif, the principal of Qurdoba School confirmed this. There are police on duty every morning near the school and she has the private number of Inspector Ilan Malke if she has any concerns.

I met Inspector Malke the last time I was here. He is from Montreal Canada and was new to Kiryat Arba Police. He assured me that he was implementing changes and that policing would improve and be much fairer to Palestinians. I have to say I did not believe him as I had been told similar stories by police officers before and have hardly ever seen a settler arrested no matter what crimes they commit.

30th March

A 48 year old Palestinian man was walking home about 11 am when he was attacked with stones by a 14 year old settler outside Beit Hadassa. Three other settler youths about the same age supported this attack. The soldier on duty intervened and told the settlers to leave. The Palestinian’s 14 year old son and his friend were approaching from the checkpoint and saw the trouble. As they arrived a settler stopped his car jumped out, grabbed the son and pushed him up against a car. He managed to escape and ran towards the checkpoint. A police car stopped and arrested him and then came to Beit Hadassa and took ID’s from the other 2 Palestinians. An adult settler kicked the Palestinian man in the shoulder and ran away. Police did nothing about this. Forty adult settlers came and began shouting and pushing at the police.