(Fwd) Mevasseret Zion & Beit Suriq: Good Kites Make Good Neighbors

[Gush Shalom (Israeli Peace Bloc)]

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From:           	"Ellen Rosenberg" <ellenr at aquanet.co.il>
To:             	<info at gush-shalom.org>
Date sent:      	Wed, 23 Jun 2004 06:40:56 +0200

Shalom,

We in Mevasseret Zion are having a joint kite event tomorrow afternoon -
June 24 - at 16:30, in support of Beit Suriq and the other Arab villages
that petitioned the High Court of Justice to change the route of the
security fence. As originally planned, the fence would separate the
village houses from their village terraces and fields.

Here follows a press release

                                 
                    Good Kites Make Good Neighbors 
                    Beit Suriq and Mevasseret Tzion
                                    
On Thursday, June 24, 2004, at 16:30, kites will fly at Mevasseret Tzion 
and Beit Suriq as an act of solidarity and a sign of the neighborly 
relationship between the two communities. During the event, children and 
adults of both communities will make and fly kites, residents of 
Mevasseret beside Mevasseret's water tower and residents of Beit Suriq on 
an adjacent hill.

The activity joins a series of events that have taken place since 
residents of Mevasseret discovered that the proposed route of the 
security fence passes close to the houses of Beit Suriq, preventing the 
villagers from reaching their fields and orchards. The fields and 
orchards are an important, and in some cases only, source of income for 
the families of Beit Suriq.

In February 2004, because of the expected impact on their lives, Beit 
Suriq, Katana, Bidu, Beit Sira, Al-Qubeiba and six other villages 
included in an enclave to be created by the fence petitioned the High 
Court of Justice to change the route.

Mevasseret residents feared that a fence on this route would create 
desperation and anger and that, instead of promoting peace, would upset 
the relative quiet that has existed between the two communities for some 
37 years. Therefore, they asked the court to join the petition of the 
Arab villages.

During the court deliberations, retired high-ranking military and police 
personnel 
testified. They claimed that the route of the fence, in addition to being extremely 
inconsiderate, would not even provide the sought-for security. They suggested an 
alternate route that would provide security to Israeli citizens while interfering as little as 
possible in the lives and income of the villagers. Deliberations ended in May but the 
court has not yet given its decision.

Residents of the area from both sides have held a number of events to generate support 
for changing the route. There have been gatherings of Mevasseret and Beit Suriq 
residents and tours to the proposed route. A Beit Suriq/Mevasseret women's group has 
been formed. Some two weeks ago, a visit was made to the Al-Sheik family whose 
house is on the proposed route and who has been served a demolition order. The kite 
event is one of several planned future events.

All are invited.

For further details about the kite event:
Ellen Rosenberg 02-5337491
Gita Dror 02-5344825
Hagai Agmon-Snir 050-7713697 
Shay Shohami 054-4630907





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