Open the Al-Bweira Road
The Israeli Army has triple blockaded the main road leading into the Hebron area farming community of Al-Bweira for ten years. The objective of the Open the Al-Bweira Road Campaign is to persuade the Israeli military and government to remove the gate and both boulder blockades from the Al-Bweira Road so that: farm families in Al-Bweira can enter and leave without having to drive over miles of rough, rutted, time consuming and costly detours; ambulances and other emergency vehicles are no longer delayed by these same detours; and the eyes of Hebron can see the neighborhood more easily and prevent settler harassment and the theft of Palestinian farm land.
The main road connecting the farming community of Al-Bweira to the city of Hebron is blocked by a large metal gate. If you walk around the gate and up the road a short distance, a huge boulder blocks the road. Go around the boulder, walk a little further and you come to an earth mound more than a yard high blocking the road. This three-part blockade forces Al-Bweira families to drive miles out of their way over rough, rutted roads to get to the city or to bring their crops to market. Ambulances and other emergency vehicles, as well as merchants bringing needed supplies, face the same difficult, time-consuming detours.
Because a significant stretch of the Al-Bweira road borders the illegal settlement of Harsina and its outpost (served by a separate road system), Al-Bweira children walking to and from school are subject to stoning and other forms of harassment by Israeli settlers. The blockade and the separation it engenders make it difficult for those outside the neighborhood to respond to incidents of settler violence. By virtually cutting Al-Bweira off from the eyes of the city of Hebron, the blockades also facilitate the efforts of settlers to expand their illegal settlement by establishing illegal outposts on the Al-Bweira hills.
The Embassy of Israel to the United states
3514 International Drive, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Dear Ambassador Oren,
On the outskirts of Hebron, in the shadow of the settlement of Harsina, lies the farming community of Al-Bweira. The main road connecting this community’s families to the city of Hebron has been triple blockaded for more than ten years. For more than ten years, these blockades have forced ambulances, fire engines and other emergency vehicles from Hebron to drive miles out of their
way over rough, rutted, detour roads when responding to distress calls from families in this neighborhood. To reach Hebron or to bring their crops to market, Al-Bweira families face the same bone jarring, time consuming detours.
Please exercise your influence to improve Israel’s image, reduce tension in the area and end the hardship Al-Bweira families have endured for more than ten years. Please ask your government
to open the metal gate and remove the boulder blockades on the Al-Bweira Road.
With hope,