On the morning of October 25th, two Palestinian farmers from Burin arrived in their fields to harvest olives only to discover their farming equipment and one olive tree burnt by settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Bracha.
A total of 10 buckets, 7 tarps, 3 ladders, and one olive tree were burnt by 9 settlers – 3 women and 6 males. The settlers were still present and 4 were armed as Palestinian farmers boldly continued their work, first alone, then accompanied by international activists. The Israeli settlers kept a presence on a nearby hilltop overlooking the farmers throughout the day. Palestinian farmers have been subject to intimidation, property damage and physical attacks during the annual olive harvest season when trying to harvest their crops.
Burin, a village just outside of Nablus, is sandwiched between the illegal Israeli settlements of Bracha and Yitzhar and has suffered numerous terrorist attacks from the nearby residents of the settlements. Activists also witnessed the presence of a further tent construction, expanding the scope of the settlement further, illegal under both Israeli and International law.
The weekly prayer demonstration in Ni’lin began at 11.15am, when Israeli soldiers began to shoot tear gas at a group of residents attempting to pray on their land. Those praying moved to another spot, where the soldiers continued to shoot tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets directly at the crowd, which contained many children. They shot from two sides of the people, forcing them to stay amongst the tear gas. The crowd then moved to yet another location, where they held the prayer.
The demonstrators (consisting of around 150 Palestinians and 20 international and Israeli activists) then spread throughout the fields, as the soldiers were shooting tear gas into the air. There were several different groups in the fields: one that remained closer to the village and a group that attempted to march to construction site of the Apartheid Wall. Both groups reunited when the army pushed them close to the Ni’lin clinic. The Israeli soldiers shot directly at the demonstrators and much of the tear gas entered the clinic. Two were injured at the site of the clinic, a Palestinian was shot in the head and an ISM volunteer was shot in the side with rubber coated steel bullets.
After an hour, the soldiers pulled back towards the construction site, but continued to shoot at the demonstrators as they walked back. The demonstrators followed to the hill above the construction site, where they were heavily tear gassed. Once the Israeli soldiers had left, a small group of demonstrators remained and set fire inside a water pipe, damaging the inside metal in the hope that they could delay the building of the wall. Once soldiers arrived at the scene, around 16.00, the demonstration was declared over.
The extreme violence used against the demonstrators in Ni’lin has not deterred their resistance. Several times a week, residents and activists gather to protest the Apartheid Wall. While most demonstrators were tear gassed during the demonstration, many were injured with rubber coated steel bullets. The village of Ni’lin will continue their resistance despite the casualties they suffer.
Around 10am, fifty Palestinians along with several international activists, marched towards the olive groves of Ni’lin to protest the construction of the Apartheid Wall.
The demonstrators arrived at the bulldozers and began to shout and throw rocks at the vehicle. After 5 minutes, the Israeli army showed up at the scene and began to fire tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets at the demonstrators. The Palestinians and internationals retreated into the trees but continued to shout against the army. Until 5am, the soldiers continued to shoot at the demonstrators in the fields.
During this time, the soldiers came into the village, near the Ni’lin clinic. They shot rubber-coated bullets and tear gas cannisters directly into the village, several into homes. Most of the demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation as a result of the high amount used by the Israeli soldiers, and several Palestinians were shot with rubber coated steel bullets, including one injured with a bullet to his head.
In the West Bank village of Ni’lin, a resistance against the construction of a wall which will confiscate Palestinians’ land continues. The building of the Apartheid Wall will further assist in the deterioration of lives of residents. The Wall will not only steal privately-owned land, but will ensure that Ni’lin residents will be more restricted in their movement, having to pass through a checkpoint to reach other villages.
This is a compilation report of various times ISM Gaza Strip volunteers have spent with farmers in Al-Faraheen Abasan Al-Kabeera, near KhanYounis, Gaza Strip, Palestine
There is a “Buffer Zone”, declared by the Israeli occupation force army, along the entire eastern “border” of the Gaza Strip. Entire farms within 300 to 500 meters distance inside this “Buffer Zone” have been destroyed by Israeli occupation force soldiers in the past few years, since 2005. On 27th and 28th April and 1st May 2008 the Israeli occupation force soldiers invaded Al-Faraheen Abasan Al-Kabeera and bulldozed many farms and demolished some houses. During these incursions all the trees, crops, irrigation pipes, and hot houses were bulldozed into the ground. Rich agricultural farm land turned into desert. Olive trees decades old, citrus trees, date trees and many crops of tomatoes, eggplant, chili peppers, green peppers, okra, carrots, lettuce, etc, providing livelihood and food for the families of the Gaza Strip gone. In addition, chicken farms and herds of sheep and other animals were killed by the soldiers too. The destruction of these farms has made many families totally dependent on food aid and has turned the farmers penniless. Most if not all of the farmers cannot access their land and they can’t graze their herds, but must feed them grains, which is not suitable food source for animals that should be grazing. The farmers will be shot at if not shot and killed if they attempt to just go to their land.
Some ISM volunteers have spent time with one family living in Al-Faraheen Abasan Al-Kabeera. They usually arrive during the day to establish an international presence and stay the night too. They are there as witnesses to the human rights violations by the Israeli occupation force soldiers. During these times other farmers have approached the volunteers to inform them of their losses inflicted upon them by the various invasions of the Israeli soldiers.
On Friday 24th October, at 9:00am, in the Al-Faraheen Abasan Al-Kabeera area at Israeli occupation force soldiers shot at one woman and two men who were working on their farm outside of the “Buffer Zone”, they were more than 300 meters from the border fence. Then at 10:00am a farmer was working his land in the “Buffer Zone”. One jeep drove to the fence marking the “border” that Israel established, a soldier got out and fired two shots, then another five shots. The farmer left the field and the work he was doing and went back to his house. He waited twenty minutes and then came out of his house to return to work his land. This time the soldier in the one jeep fired many shots. The farmer stopped working his land for the day and went back home. Later on, another jeep drove to the fence northeast of the previous location, and fired lots of shots, maybe 50. Why would soldiers shoot into an agricultural field while farmers work their land? Why would soldiers shoot 50 shots into an agricultural field
while nobody is there?
Israeli military forces evicted Palestinian farmers and over 100 international activists from olive groves near the illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim on 24th October. Farmers and accompanying activists attempted to enter the lands of Kufr Qeddum farmer, Faruq Abdl Karim Barhum, early on Friday morning, to harvest olives, but were denied entry to the lands when Israeli authorities declared the area a closed military zone.
Farmers and activists then attempted to harvest olives on nearby lands belonging to Kufr Qeddum mayor, Mohammad Abu Nimah – lands which have been occupied by Qedumim’s “hilltop youth” – a violent, right-wing faction of the settlement movement. Quickly, settlers from Qedumim flooded the area in an attempt to intimidate the farmers and activists. Spokespeople for the settlement – self-described as “The Vanguard of Jewish Resettlement in Samaria” – publicly insisted that Palestinian farmers were terrorists and terrorist sympathizers and needed Israeli military permission to gain access to their lands. Israeli soldiers then proceeded to push the farmers and activists off the land, detaining one Palestinian farmer, Mohammad Abeid; releasing him only after activists crowded around the jeep.
Faruq Barhum has been trying to harvest his olives for over one week. On Saturday 18th October, Faruq and his family were forced off their land near the illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim by Israeli soldiers, under the pretext that it was Shabbat – a holy day in Judaism – and a day when Palestinian farmers are regularly denied access to their lands. The soldiers assured Faruq and his family that they would be allowed to harvest the olives the following day.
The next day, Faruq, along with international activists and Israeli peace groups, again attempted to harvest his olives, but armed Israeli settlers from Qedumim quickly appeared, followed by Israeli police and military. Rather than protecting the Palestinian farmers, as is their duty under Israeli and international law, the Israeli authorities implemented a closed military zone, and again forced Faruq off his land, arresting one Israeli and three international activists in the process.
The pretext for this eviction was that Faruq and his family require co-ordination with the Israeli District Coordination Office (DCO) to enter their own lands. Faruq was then informed that he would not be able to access his lands until 9th November. The family was extremely upset by the prospect of not being allowed to harvest their olives until such a late date (the official start date for the olive harvest this year was 10th October) for a number of reasons; the first of which being the concern that the olives will spoil – especially if it rains. With black clouds rolling over the nothern West Bank, the potential of this outcome seems highly likely. The Barhum family are also extremely concerned that the Israeli settlers will steal their olives. Another piece of land close to Qedumim belonging to the Barhum family was recently stolen when, after Faruq plowed the land to prepare it for planting, settlers planted their own olive trees in the land, thus effectively stealing it. Indeed, the former mayor of Qedumim, Daniela Weiss, openly stated that the family’s remaining land belongs to the settlement.
The implementation of “closed military zones” is a common tactic used by Israeli occupation authorities to keep Palestinian farmers from their lands. Palestinian farmers are routinely evicted from lands which lie close to illegal Israeli settlements, a process which not only denies farmers their livelihoods, but also facilitates the annexation of further Palestinian lands by Israeli settlers. According to the Israeli human rights group B’tselem, more than fifty percent of the West Bank has been expropriated from Palestinians – mostly for settlements and future settlement expansion.
