CPT attacked by Israeli settlers

Kim Lamberty and Chris Brown, volunteering with Christian Peacemakers Team in Hebron, were accosted by five masked settlers dressed in black and wielding chains as they escorted a group of Palestinian children to school, something CPT has been doing for almost a decade.

"We were accompanying the children because they have to walk through a settler area. When we got to that area five men came out. They had chains and black masks. The children ran away and they came after Chris and me," said Kim, 44. "They threw me to the ground and beat me and the same with Chris and then they disappeared into the trees," Her arm and knee were broken in the incident while Chris, 39, sustained a punctured lung. Kim said she was certain the assailants were settlers as she said that Palestinians did not dare visit the area which is near an Israeli settlement. Chris told BBC news: "They threw a stone at my head which knocked me over and then whipped me with chains. They normally throw stones at us or fire their guns over our heads - but this is the most vicious assault so far." The incident has been almost completely unreported in the US press.

CPT was invited to work in Hebron ten years ago, to reduce violence in the tense city were 600 militant settlers living in an enclave in the heart of Hebron, supported by 1,200 soldiers. This seriously disrupts the life of the 120,000 Palestinians citizens. CPT is also working in Baghdad, currently being almost the only organisation remaining in Iraq with the threat of kidnappings.