On a recent August evening in Beit Jala, a Palestinian village on the West Bank, twenty members of the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) were trapped in a Lutheran Church by shelling and gunfire coming from Israeli military in the Jewish settlement of Gilo. Ohio Conference minister Tracy Hughes, assistant pastor at Trinity UCC, Wooster and a CPT reservist on a short-term mission, was a member of the group.

The Christian Peacemaker Team has provided a violence-reduction presence in Hebron since 1995 and supports Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers in their work. They are committed to reducing violence by "getting in the way"—challenging systems of domination and exploitation as Jesus Christ did.

Hughes became interested in the CPT in 1996 when she took a break from her studies at Eden Seminary to teach at a Palestinian school near Jerusalem. Friends told her about the work of the CPT, and she became involved in a symbolic home rebuilding on Good Friday.

"It was probably the most significant Good Friday of my life," said Hughes. I grew up in the UCC where what we seek is ‘that all may be one.’ I think the Palestinians and Israelis need to be included in that."

CPT members are invited to live in Palestinian homes, where they serve as human shields against the violence that is part of the Palestinians’ daily lives. "Part of the CPT’s mission is to stand between Israeli military and settler violence and the Palestinian civilians," said Pastor Hughes. "Attacks usually decrease or stop when there is an international presence in a home or village."

However, on the night in question, "it didn’t work," said Hughes. "By the time we got to the church, the shelling started and we were trapped. We turned on a news report and watched ourselves being bombed on TV. It was bizarre."

The Peacemakers have witnessed many instances of harassment and violence. "Once you’re there and have experienced the Palestinians’ daily life, the oppression is so clear," said Pastor Hughes. "I can’t do enough to explain the daily oppression that the Palestinians live under: the fear of their homes being demolished, settler attacks, soldiers bashing into their homes to take their young men away, the constant possibility of attack at night."

Israeli settlers—adults and children—throw rocks, bottles, garbage and dirty diapers at Palestinian homes, many of which now have wire mesh over the windows and doors for protection. "While we were there, the house we were staying in was stoned," said Pastor Hughes. "We saw settlers patrolling with machine guns. We would make eye contact with the settlers and greet them so they knew that we were there. The idea is not to hold them in contempt but to maintain a peaceful presence."

In some areas, 24-hour curfews are imposed for extended periods. Residents cannot leave their homes to buy food or seek medical help; children cannot play outside. Farmers cannot care for their crops or livestock. They are sometimes harassed or beaten if they try to take their crops to market. The resulting loss of income is causing severe hardship. If residents are found outside during a curfew period, "they could be detained, attacked, arrested or shot," said Pastor Hughes. During her 9-day stay in the Hebron area, Palestinians in the part of Hebron controlled by the Israelis could leave their homes for only four hours to get supplies.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has confiscated land and demolished homes to build bypass roads through Palestinian towns. Armed soldiers and settlers control the roads, and Palestinians, easily identified by the color of their license plates, are not allowed to use them. A trip that would take 5 minutes might now take 45 minutes because Palestinians have to find alternate routes.

Israeli settlements have been built on confiscated Palestinian land. "This practice is in violation of international law," said Hughes. Because the land between Palestinian villages contains Israeli settlements and Israelis control the roads, communities are cut off from each other. The isolation increases their frustration and fear.

At military checkpoints, "sometimes Palestinians are made to stand in the sun for hours without water. Israelis take their ID papers and don’t give them back, or they just don’t let them cross," Pastor Hughes said. There have been many shootings at checkpoints.

"Teachers from the school where I taught in 1996 live close to a checkpoint. They witness what goes on there," said Hughes. "They see soldiers beat up people."

People seeking medical help for themselves or their children have been stopped at checkpoints. Of the 145 children who have been killed during the recent hostilities, 20 died because Israeli soldiers would not allow their parents to take them through the checkpoint to get treatment.

"Home demolitions are another part of the plan to rid the area of Palestinians," said Pastor Hughes. "Homeowners will get a letter of demolition, which means that at some unspecified time in the future they’ll show up to demolish your house. When the bulldozers and soldiers arrive, the people have 15 minutes to get their belongings out of their home."

Many shepherds and their families live in caves in the desert. A settlement was built near a group of these caves, and the IDF used pneumatic drills to smash in the caves. The Red Cross brought tents for the people to live in, but the IDF demolished the tents as well. They also poisoned the shepherds’ well with garbage.

Hughes tells of a confrontation when the CPT presence prevented harm to three Palestinian drivers who took the Peacemakers to an area where caves had been demolished.

"The soldiers arrived very quickly and ordered our drivers to leave the area, she said. Rick Polhamus, a CPT member from Ohio, became involved. After a while, our drivers wanted to leave; they felt unsafe. The soldiers assured us that the drivers could safely return to their communities. However, we sent a CPT delegate with each driver, and an Israeli peacekeeper followed in his Jeep. When the vans were out of our sight, soldiers stopped them at gunpoint and confiscated their keys. The CPT delegates and the Israeli peacekeeper stood in front of the soldiers’ Jeep so they couldn’t leave with the keys. The Israeli could hear the soldiers’ commander telling them to ‘mess up’ the Palestinians. After a long conversation between the CPT, the Israeli peacekeeper and the soldiers, the keys were returned. They were all told that, if the Americans had not been there, the situation would have ended very differently. The threat was real. You just don’t know what will happen."

Of course, some Palestinians are armed and are fighting against the Israeli occupation. They feel that they must retaliate with violence to protect themselves. Anne Montgomery, another CPT member and an American nun, reported to the National Catholic Reporter in December 2000 that "frustrated Palestinian young men will come out at night and shoot at the settlement." The Israeli Defense Force retaliates by shooting at the houses of Beit Jala. "[Israeli] tank shells make no distinction between whether there are human beings in the building or not."

"Israel has much more power than the Palestinians," said Hughes."Palestinian weapons are no match for Israeli tanks, mortars, helicopters and a well-trained and funded army. Of course, the oppressed have to take responsibility for their actions, but I believe that most of the responsibility falls on the oppressor to make amends and set things right."

Hughes added, "There really is a call for an international presence by the Palestinian people and their leaders: not for people with guns but rather observers to watch how they live and what they suffer every day." They tell us, "We want you to see this because then you’ll understand that there can’t be a peace between our two peoples when these things happen every day."

"There is a unique spirit working through the CPT," said Hughes. "There is cooperation and solidarity between Muslims and Christians. I think it’s because the CPT keeps Christianity and the Gospel alive in its deepest justice orientation. They see that we will live and walk with them in the name of Christ."

"It’s so important for UCC members to open their hearts and eyes and start hearing the cries of the oppressed," said Hughes. "In this particular instance in history, it’s not the Israelis; it’s the Palestinian people. As Christians we are called to hear the cry of the oppressed and respond. To do that, we need to go outside our regular paths of information. Our media comes through a pro-Israel lens, and we need to view it with skeptical eyes. Once we start doing that, we’ll be able to start hearing the cries of the Palestinian people. I believe that’s what we’re called to do."

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