Doug Hostetter, is International/Interfaith Secretary, Fellowship of Reconciliation, 521 North Broadway, Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960; Tel. 914/358-4601; Fax 914-358-4924; <DHostetter@igc.org> Web: Http://www.nonviolence.org/for

"And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every family under their own grapevines and fig trees, from Dan even unto Beer-sheba."

I Kings 4:25

In the second demolition of their home, Zuhoor Al-Atrash, the mother, refused the Israeli soldiers' order that she leave her house so they could demolish it. Instead she locked the doors. As the soldiers smashed through the window, Zuhoor grabbed a pot of boiling water and threatened to scald anyone who approached. A soldier grabbed her screaming three-year-old son, Ra'ed, held his M-16 to the child's head, and threatened to shoot if Zuhoor did not drop the pot. She dropped the pot, was grabbed by soldiers and pulled from the house which was then immediately destroyed. Ra'ed, traumatized, didn't speak for a month.

Shortly after the signing of the Wye Plantation Memorandum, the Fellowship of Reconciliation sent a five-person interfaith delegation to Israel/Palestine to participate in the Campaign for Secure Dwellings, an ongoing effort to protect the homes of Palestinian families in Hebron and other Palestinian cities. The Campaign for Secure Dwellings, a program initiated by Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT) and supported by Mennonite and Brethren congregations and Friends meetings, cooperates with the Palestinian Land Defense Committee of Hebron and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions to publicize the ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes. Our group was a rich mix representing the Jewish Peace Fellowship, the Muslim Peace Fellowship, and FOR workers from the US and Switzerland. In the Jerusalem area we talked with Palestinian and Israeli peace and human rights organizations, government officials, Jewish settlers, and Palestinian families.

The good news is that a growing number of Israeli organizations struggle against militarization of their society, document human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, and consider the dehumanizing effect of the Occupation of Lebanon, Golan Heights, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. A group of Israeli women from Tel Aviv organized a conference, "A New Profile," for a public look at the issue of conscientious objection to military service. We saw growing collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian peace and human rights organizations.

On Feb. 2 the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz published a manifesto signed by 146 prominent Israelis who support "the right of the Palestinian nation to declare the establishment of the State of Palestine in all the territories of the West Bank and the 2Gaza Strip, with united Jerusalem serving as the capital of both states, West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. The co-existence of Israel and Palestine, side by side, is the basis of peace, security and reconciliation between the two nations."

The Manifesto, striking in its reach into the establishment of Israeli society, was drafted by a former Knesset member. It was signed by five laureates of the Israel Prize-the highest award given by the State of Israel-and three past and present members of the Knesset, dozens of academics, writers, artists, journalists, opinion-makers, and film-makers. (A complete list of the signatories and the Hebrew text is available on the web at: http://www.gush-shalom.org/hebrew).

Although our visit found much hope, there was also the bad news-carefully documented for us by many Israeli and Palestinian groups. The Israeli human rights organization, B'Tselem, gives these figures in their December 1998 Human Rights Quarterly: From 9/87 to 11/98 1648 people were killed in the Occupied Territories: 1463 Palestinians, 178 Israelis, and 7 foreign citizens. B'Tselem estimates that 850 Palestinians are subjected each year to methods of interrogation which constitute torture. In November 1998, there were 79 Palestinians held by the Israeli government in administrative detention without trial.

Since 1987, B'Tselem has documented 451 Palestinian homes demolished, 294 completely sealed, 62 partially demolished, and 118 partially sealed-as punishment to families of security suspects. A second area of housing demolitions affects homes constructed without building permits. In this category, B'Tselem documented the destruction by the Israeli authorities of more than 2000 homes in the last 11 years, with 10,000 Palestinians left homeless. In contrast, in Jewish settlements, hundreds of structures have gone up without permits. These structures have not been demolished and the authorities have granted retroactive permits.

The meaning of these statistics became clear when we traveled to Hebron-al-Khalil in Arabic-one of the most explosive points in the Middle East, 19 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Hebron is the location of the burial cave of Abraham and Sarah, sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Sacredness has not brought peace. In 1929, 64 members of the ancient Jewish community of Hebron were massacred by Palestinian nationalists. In 1994, an Israeli settler, Dr. Baruch Goldstein, a former American, killed 29 Palestinian men and boys at prayer in the Ibrahami Mosque above the tombs of Abraham and Sarah. Since then a wall has been built in the center of the ancient structure above the burial cave. The Israeli military controls both entrances, prohibiting Jews from entering the Mosque side and Muslims from entering the synagogue. (One of our many acts of civil disobedience was to pray together-Christian, Muslim, and Jew-above Sarah's tomb.)

Modern Hebron has a population of 130,000 Palestinians. A small settlement of 450 Israelis-250 residents and 200 transient students-occupies the center of the city, guarded by 1300 Israeli soldiers. The Israelis, with less than 1% of the population, have demanded "exclusive control" over 20% of Hebron, an area that is currently home to 30,000 Palestinians. It is difficult to communicate the dangers and daily humiliation for Palestinians who live under the Occupation.

We spent an afternoon as guests in the tent of Yusef and Zuhoor Al-Atrash, Ra'ed (who is now four), and his nine siblings. The tent rested on the rubble of their home which had been demolished for the second time in March 1998 after the incident I described in the opening paragraph. We saw a video taken by a Palestinian journalist, and an article written by an Israeli journalist, about their most recent arrest while trying to resist the Israeli Government confiscation of their cement mixer.

Our trip gave us insight into the grave implications of the Wye Memorandum. Although most people in the US understand Wye as a step toward a Palestinian State in the Occupied Territories, the Wye Memorandum authorized many new "by-pass" roads to encourage the Israelis to complete the promised land transfer. If implemented, these new roads will by-pass Palestinian towns and cities to link Israeli settlements with each other and with Israel proper, creating Palestinian "Bantustans," (small enclaves completely surrounded by Israeli territory) on the West Bank and Gaza. The Israelis expect the US to fund these new roads with 1.2 billion US dollars. (It is possible that Clinton promised this.) The settlements and the roads are a complete violation of international law. The transfer of population of an occupying power into occupied territory is strictly forbidden by the Fourth Geneva Convention. UN Security Council Resolution 465, passed unanimously in 1980 with US support, specifically forbids member states from providing Israel with "any assistance to be used specifically in connection with settlements in the Occupied Territories" (article 7).

These roads will necessitate confiscating hundreds of acres of Palestinian-owned farmland and threaten hundreds of Palestinian homes with demolition because Israel requires a 150 meter "security zone" on either side of its by-pass roads.

The Campaign for Secure Dwellings urges all Americans to write the President, Secretary of State, and your nearest Israeli Consulate to protest Israel's home demolition policies and the US government's complicity. The Campaign is looking for additional participants in their delegations to Israel/Palestine. There will be "Rebuilders against Bulldozers" delegations April 3-24, May 26 to June 7, August 1-14, and November 1-12.

Persons interested in going on a delegation, pairing with a Palestinian family, or learning more about the Campaign for Secure Dwellings should contact the Christian Peacemakers Teams, PO Box 6508, Chicago, IL 60680 or see their web page at http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/