Soldiers block a main road linking two areas in Hebron

Friday May 30, 2008 09:39 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The Christian Peace Maker Teams (CPT), stationed in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, reported on Thursday that Israeli soldiers blocked the road between the village of At-Tuwani and the city of Yatta using three of the concrete blocks.

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The blocked road is the main route for vehicles in the South Hebron Hills and is used by the Palestinians to travel to and from the city of Yatta, near Hebron.

The CPT reported that the main health services, including maternity provision, are situated in Yatta, and that the blockade of this road will bar several villages in the South Hebron Hills from having access to these facilities.

 A resident of At-Tuwani told CPT members that the price of water transported into the village had doubled as the tankers are now forced to take longer routes as an alternative to the blocked road.

He added that schoolchildren studying at an elementary school in At Tuwani used to travel on this road on daily basis but now they have to walk for over a half mile using an alternative route.

This road is one of several roads which were blocked by the army in the Hebron area in recent days.

 The blockade of the road also bars the residents from harvesting their fields planted with wheat and barley especially since their fields are close to the illegal Israeli settlement outpost of Ma’on and the illegal settlement of Havot Ma’on.

 The CPT also reported that on Wednesday, just before the roadblock was installed, a number of extremist Israeli settlers attempted to steal the harvest of the villagers; the army intervened but also forced the Palestinians to leave the wheat in the fields for the time being.

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