For Immediate Release
At-Tuwani: Palestinian fence damaged in village

Original Release provided by Operation Dove

5 August 2010

On the morning of Wednesday, 4^ August, Palestinians from At-Tuwani
found that their fence built between the village and the nearby Havat
Ma'on settler outpost had been partially destroyed during the night. The
fence, made from cemented metal supports and barbed wire, was funded by
European Commission for Humanitarian Aid, Union of Agricultural Work
Committee, and Save the Children UK. At-Tuwani villagers built the fence
in March 2010 with the aim of protecting crops planted in the area,
defining the borders of the agricultural land belonging to Palestinians,
and as a response to the ongoing and rapid expansion of the nearby Ma'on
settlement and Havat Ma'on outpost. The villagers also constructed the
fence to help protect the village from Israeli settler raids (such as
the events of 26^ January, see press release “Israeli settlers and
soldiers invade At-Tuwani, attack and injure villagers” at:
www.cpt.org/cptnet/2010/01/27/tuwani-israeli-settlers-and-soldiers-invade-tuwani\
-attack-and-injure-villagers
<http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2010/01/27/tuwani-israeli-settlers-and-soldiers-invad\
e-tuwani-attack-and-injure-villagers>
and 12^ June, see press release “Israeli masked settlers attack
At-Tuwani Palestinian village” at: www.operationdove.org/?p=346
<http://snipurl.com/xluyo>).

The morning of August 4, Palestinian villagers found 17 poles supporting
the fence pulled up and about 100m of barb wire fencing cut in pieces.
They suspect that the perpetrators of this action are the Israeli
settlers from the outpost. During this year the same fence had already
been damaged on 11 May (see press release “Palestinian fence vandalized
in At-Tuwani village” at:
www.cpt.org/cptnet/2010/05/17/tuwani-release-palestinian-fence-vandalized-tuwani\
-village
<http://snipurl.com/xmb2w>). After that incident, the owner of the land
filed a complaint to the Israeli police but he never received any update
from them concerning the progress of the investigation.

This property damage is just the last of several ongoing provocations
carried out by the Israeli army and Israeli settlers which Palestinian
communities in the South Hebron Hills have committed to respond to with
nonviolent resistance.

Pictures of the incident:
www.operazionecolomba.it/galleries/palestina-israele/2010/damaged-fence-in-at-tu\
wani/
<http://snipurl.com/106pjr>

For further information:
Operation Dove, 054 992 5773
Christian Peacemaker Teams 054 253 1323

[Note: According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations,
the International Court of Justice, and several United Nations
resolutions, all Israeli settlements and outposts in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories are illegal. Most settlement outposts, including
Havat Ma'on (Hill 833), are considered illegal also under Israeli law.]