On Tuesday, 12 April, the governor of Hebron, Kamel Hamaid, and the
director of the Hebron district Ministry of Education, Fawzi Abu
Hlayel, visited the At-Tuwani school. Then the two Palestinian
Authority representatives walked with school children to the place
where they usually meet the Israeli military escort intended to
protect the children on their journey home to the villages of Tuba and
Maghayir al Abeed. The escort accompanies the children on the road
that runs between the Israeli settlement of Ma’on and settlement
outpost of Havat Ma’on because the children have suffered many
threats, aggressions and attacks from settlers along this route.
The visiting governmental officials, together with the local school
headmaster, the mayor and representatives from the local council,
observed the military escort arrive on time and accompany the children
without incident—unlike the two previous afternoons. Palestinian TV
was also present, documenting the visit and escort.
The preceding days, 10 and 11 April, the children waited nearly two
hours each day for the escorting soldiers to arrive. On 10 April, the
escort failed to arrive at all, and after waiting from 1:30 until
3:20, the children had to take a much longer route home. The next
day, the children again waited over 90 minutes and then, as they began
to walk the longer route, a passing army jeep stopped and accompanied
the children back to and along the usual, shorter path. Both days the
children arrived in Tuba around 4:00. On 12 April, in contrast, the
children reached the village before 1:30.
The visit of Hamaid and Abu Hlayel, following the visit made two
weeks ago by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, is considered by
the Local Council and the Popular Committee for the Nonviolent
Resistance a sign of the increased attention of the Palestine
Authority for the South Hebron Hills area. The Popular Committee and
the Local Council are committed to advancing living conditions and
access to resources for the Palestinian residents of the South Hebron
Hills.