3 August 2013

SOUTH HEBRON HILLS URGENT ACTION:  Ask U.S. Secretary of State Kerry to heed Israeli jurists' and writers' petitions against forced evacuation of people in Firing Zone 918

To sign the petition and obtain more information, click here.


On 2 September 2013, the Israeli High Court will rule on whether more than 1,000 Palestinians, including 452 children may remain on land in the South Hebron Hills where their families have lived for many generations.  The Israeli military wants to force the villagers off their land so they can use the land for live fire training,  which is in absolute contravention of international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49, and the Hague Regulations, Articles 46 and 52.  For further background see the following expert legal opinions: 

Expert Opinion by Prof. Michael Bothe on The Limits of the right of expropriation (requisition) and of movement restrictions in occupied territory (Firing Zones)

Christian Peacemaker Teams has had a relationship with villagers in this area since the late 1990s, including a seven year period when it had a team in the village of At-Tuwani.  It is asking its constituents to express their support for petitions sponsored by prominent Israeli writers and legal advocates--available on CPT’s Palestine team’s website--who are speaking out on behalf of the residents of the region. The petition CPT is asking its consituents to sign adjures U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is trying to foster new peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, to demand that the Israeli military cease its ongoing live fire training in the South Hebron Hills  and stop trying to expel the more than 1,000 Palestinian shepherd families from their villages.

To sign the petition and obtain more information, click here.

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