SOUTH HEBRON Thursday 31/03/05, AMObservers: Edna S., Mira B.(Hebrew), Leah Y.(English)We left Tsomet Shoqet 6:45,returned 10:00.Sansana roadblock: we drive through without stopping,the soldiersknow us.Route 317: new mounds of earth along the way..Arad roadblock:notraffic,only soldiers. More fresh earth-mounds in the Yatadirection.(still,we saw a family with small children whose tendermanaged to get across and the kids climbed over, in its trail)TAWANI: villagers moved the large stones in the school-yard for paving the entrance into the village. (NB:they had intended to pave the road leading to their grazing land but the army forbade that,because:”this is a firing zone” -incredible..). The villagers told us about the following incidents:1. On 28/03/05,N.an Israeli boy(aged 16,born in Ramle)staying withhis brother in Tawani,was grazing sheep with another shepherd(alsoN.)in Haruba…land that belongs to Tawani(they claim). Soldiersarrived,blindfolded him,tied his hands behind his back and took himto the army base in Susiya (N.said he could peep so he could seewhere they were taking him).He was held there from 1:00pm.to 8:00pm.sitting on the floor,no water to drink and not allowed to the toilet;soldiers hit him in”sensitive parts”as he put it and asked about the names of the other shepherds. They warned him that if he grazes sheepin Haruba again,they will kill him. In the evening he was returned to Tawani in a Toyota (he peeped).N.thinks the Peace activists have photos of his arrest. He did not lodge a complaint:for that, he would have to go to the Hebron Police through all the roadblocks (the short way via Yata,is blocked) and then wait for hours; & even then it is highly unlikely that anything would be done about a complaint against the army.2. More stories about the poison spread on their land,apparently by settlers (“the monsters”, we shall call them)living in the wood between Tawani and the Maon Farm. The police took samples of the poison. More sheep and other animals have died. (The Nature Preservation Society takes interest in deer,not sheep.)3. ‘The monsters from the wood’ploughed up a Tawani field after the seeds had sprouted,and a “battle” ensued. The settlers from the “legal” Maon Farm came to the aid of their friends from the wood;the Tawanis described their strategy: they split their “forces”,some villagers stayed behind to defend their home (what does thatbring to mind?) Hard to understand why the army keeps protecting’the monsters’, there are soldiers around the wood.4. The schoolchildren from Um Tuba:At 8:30 am the children hadn’t arrived. The international peace volunteers(operational dove and CPT)tried to contact officials from the Un(?) and the Red Cross.Mira phoned Operations Hativat Yehuda. They knew nothing, beganenquiries,said there was a new convoy and that this was the reasonfor the delay. When asked for details,they reported the convoy would arrive in 5 minutes,but not where,exactly. Mira asked ifanyone had notified the children or their parents – even Palestinian children don’t wait more than an hour for nothing.We knew they’d have gone back to their village. The army had nophone numbers and didn’t know which villages the children comefrom. Finally, after 1 1/2 hours,but of course the children had left. Mira inquired:”Would children from Maon who needed to betaken to ballet class, have been left waiting in a dangerousplace for more than an hour without any message?”We left Tawani at 9:30 and cut short the rest of the watch,didn’t go to Halhul. Route60: Zif Junction, open; Sheeps’ Junction.open but stillnot for vehicles and one has to cross the whole area that separates the earth-mounds from the Yata side,to the main road.Dura-El Fawar: open to cars, the pillbox is manned.Karame: new gate, open; Dahariya:the blocks are still there.All the outposts are in place; many army vehicles, we sawcirca 6 Hummers and a police jeep.