At-Tuwani villagers reclaim road to Yatta
On my second day in Hebron I, along with my team of fellow (EAPPl) Observers, Niklas from Finland and Erika from Switzerland, was invited by The Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) in Hebron to accompany them on a demonstration organised by the villagers of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. At around 8.30 in the morning we met up with the CPT team led by Janet from Scotland, a couple of young Brits from Wales working with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and an Englishman Daoud who is married to a Palestinian woman from Hebron.
We travelled to the town of Yatta the nearest city to At-Tuwani. Once in Yatta we were driven by local residents to our destination first on the concreted roads of Yatta and then through a winding, rough and bumpy makeshift Palestinian road to our destination - a road block consisting of earth mounds and concrete blocks preventing the villagers of At-Tuwani from gaining vehicular access to Yatta.
Beyond the roadblock lies route 317, a perfectly tarmacked road. In contrast to the road we had just passed, route 317 and the scenery (it is surrounded by beautiful hills) could have appeared in a road movie. The road was largely empty - except for the occasional, dangerously fast moving vehicle zooming past. Route 317 is an 'Israeli only’ road reserved for the residents of the nearby (illegal) settlement outposts and its use strictly barred to the local Palestinian population. On the other side of route 317 lies the access route to the village of At-Tuwani.
We crossed route 317 by foot and on to the hilly land of the South Hebron Hills. There, standing on large stones we were greeted by Eileen a capable American CPT’er who briefed us on the proceedings for the day. Whilst Eileen talked we noticed an army vehicle driving up and down the road. We had clearly attracted attention and the Israeli army had obviously caught wind that something was about to take place.
Eileen gave us more background to the demonstration. It was organised by a popular committee of villagers in protest against the earthmound and concrete roadblocks erected by the army in recent weeks. It had become very difficult for Palestinian vehicles to travel between villages in the South Hebron Hills, and the city of Yatta, which serves as the urban centre for the South Hebron Hills. The roadblock affects people going to and from school and work, and people bringing firewood and animal feed to their villages. Elieen also stressed the strictly non-violent intentions of the demonstration’s organisers.
After a short interlude we were soon joined by the villagers, first women and children and then the men folk. Shortly after, the army started arriving. First we were joined by one vehicle but during the course of the demonstration another four army vehicles were present, on and off, with around 15-20 armed soldiers including around 4 soldiers positioned in the hills near the demonstration, with two on each side of the hill.
As the villagers gathered we, as observers, took photographs and filmed the proceedings. Men both young and old began digging at the earth mound with picks trying to remove the sizeable earthmound blocking Palestinian vehicles getting to Yatta. On the other end, women and children dug around the concrete blocks trying to loosen the earth around the blocks so that they could push the blocks out of the way. These actions continued for the next couple of hours; then, suddenly, there was a loud commotion as finally the women and children triumphantly heaved with all their might and dislodged one of the concrete blocks and pushed it out of the way. It was quite some achievement as moving the concrete blocks with very few aids was no easy task.
Meanwhile, at the other end with constant digging and sheer group effort the earth mound became smaller and smaller. Gradually the villagers also managed to move another concrete block out of the way making enough room for vehicles to pass. Soon villagers turned up with tractors, cars and trucks and even a donkey ready to make their way through the newly created passage. First one vehicle passed and then another and another. The Israeli army, although with a considerable presence, stood by bemused as villagers celebrated reopening their road.
Facts about At-Tuwani
At Tuwani is a village in the South Hebron Hills. It has a population of between 150-200 people consisting of five extended families and 27 households. Villagers live in covered caves. The oldest habitations in At-Tuwani are between 300-500 years old, some of the caves are said to be from the Roman times. The Israeli military frequently destroys and blocks the only Palestinian road that leads to At-Tuwani This blockage impedes movement into the areas larger population centres of Karmil and Yatta.
The roadblock affects people going to and from school and work, and people bringing firewood and animal feed to their villages.
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