9/29/2004: Chris Brown of Oakland and Kim Lamberty of Washington DC, two activists with the Christian Peacemaker Teams, were brutally attacked early this morning, presumably by Israeli settlers, who were dressed in black with black scarves across their faces. They were escorting Palestinian children to school in the West Bank town of Hebron, to protect them from attacks by Israelis. Christian Peacemaker teams are present in the area of the attack at the request of Palestinians, who are the target of repeated harassment from Israeli settlers while Israeli authorities have failed to intervene.

Israeli settlers frequently attack the nonviolent Christian Peacemaker members, throwing them to the ground, kicking them, cursing them, using obscenities against their religion etc., while Israeli soldiers look on. This incident, however, is the most brutal to date. If Americans Knew claims that so far, the AP has refused to cover this incident.

Injuries: Brown sustained broken ribs, one of which punctured his lung. He has undergone a surgical procedure to fix his collapsed lung. Brown also suffered a contusion on his head at his temple, but does not appear to have any brain injury. He will be recovering in the hospital for an unspecified amount of time. Lamberty suffered a broken arm and knee. She has now been released from the hospital and is recovering in Jerusalem. Christian Peacemaker members plan to accompany Palestinian school children again tomorrow. The children who, witnessed this incident, are terrified about returning to school. The Americans planning to accompany them are terrified, as well.

Christian Peacemaker Teams | 9/29 Flashpoints interview with Chris Brown (7 minutes into show) | Palestine Information Center | 9/20 ISM Report about Hebron | If Americans Knew