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Greetings to you all,

A lot has happened since I last wrote to you. Last weekend saw a rash of suicide bombings in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Israel). Hebron was not spared. A suicide bomber killed himself and two settlers only 200 m. from our CPT offices and living quarters. Our situation has definitely worsened since that event.

Unfortunately, Greg Rollins, our CPT team leader had earlier left his passport in his pants while they were being washed. This meant that for a while he was without his passport and visa. The day following the suicide bombing, Greg and Chris Brown were in the Palestinian-controlled area of Hebron (H1), observing the detention of a group of Palestinians by the Israeli occupation army. While observing this, they themselves were detained. Chris was released but Greg was arrested and is now being threatened with deportation. The charge is that he was inappropriately in the H1 area. Greg's Israeli visa was washed out from his passport.

The next day our CPT offices and living quarters were raided by the Israeli occupation army. On the subsequent day, the CPT quarters were raided again and everyone had their pictures taken. An earlier press release that was sent out outlines the new restrictions that are now being imposed on us. Basically, by a series of regulations, an attempt is being made to shut down our peace activities. These restrictions are now being directed at all international peace activists in the West Bank and the Gaza strip. We are now experiencing the harrassment and intimidation that has been become part of the daily life of Palestinians.

While the above events were occurring, a Catholic Franciscan sister, Kathy, and I were staying with a Palestinian extended family which has two homes threatened for demolition. They are awaiting a final decision from the Israeli high court about their case. After the suicide bombing in Hebron, rocks were thrown down on us from the nearby settlement for a period of one hour. It was a moving experience staying with the Palestinian families in one of their homes during the rock throwing. There were about 8-10 adults and about a dozen children, some of whom were babies. Some children were crying. One of the children thought that Kathy and I were settlers. During this time some of the men held a prayer session.

This network of Palestinian families is determined to stick by their land and their homes in the face of attacks and harrassment. They realize that if they yield to this harrassment it will only occur again as the settlement expands. The remarkable thing is that their resistance to this settlement pressure has been entirely peaceful and non-violent. However, they themselves have received many violent attacks.

We are now hunkered down in our CPT quarters in the old city of Hebron. Threats from settlers have become a fact of the daily living experience here. Today a settler got out of his car and started to threaten one of our CPT female members. This same settler then got in his car and swerved his car at another of our CPT women members. Also a Palestinian who was visiting us was threatened by two settlers who were carrying machine guns. In all of these cases it was the presence of Israeli soldiers that restrained the actions of the settlers!

In the old city centre curfew is imposed on and off willy nilly, thus completely ruining the economic activities of the shopkeepers who are still there. Fully 80% of the shops are now abandoned. The old city is dying. It is clear that the the Jewish settlers are planning to take it all over soon.

Thank you for you interest and solidarity,

Eric