I Saw it in Palestine

Settlers enter village in the South Hebron Hills, assault Palestinians

As I've said, lately our life in the South Hebron Hills has been quiet. I've been sitting peacefully on the hillside surrounded by goats and sheep and the settlers living in Havat Ma'on have not tried to prevent Palestinian shepherds from completing their grazing. But a few days ago, settlers attacked Palestinians living in the village of Tuba, the home of the children that we accompany on their way to school in at-Tuwani. Here are the details of the attack.

September, 24, 2007

On September 23^rd, shortly before sundown, ten Israeli settlers entered the village of Tuba in the South Hebron Hills. The settlers threw stones, hitting a woman and her adult son. Settlers remained in the village for about an hour. Israeli partners called police at 5:30pm to report the incident. Police did not arrive in Tuba until 7:30pm after the settlers had already left.

Tuba, a village of about 75 people, has experienced on-going harassment by settlers from the nearby Israeli settlement of Ma’on, and illegal outpost Havat Ma’on. School aged children from Tuba are accompanied to school in nearby At-Tuwani by an Israeli military escort because of repeated attacks on the children by settlers. In April of this year, three girls were injured when settlers attacked the children on their way home from school and stole two of the children’s book bags. Two weeks ago, the Israeli military demolished an outpost tent the settlers had built illegally on Tuba land. Local Palestinians report that settlers began rebuilding the structure almost immediately. (see At-Tuwani Release: Demolition in South Hebron Hills, September 09, 2007)