Tag: Bruqin

“They take everything,” explains Bruqin farmer during 2018 olive harvest

October 22, 2018 |International Solidarity Movement | Bruqin, Occupied Palestine

ISM volunteers spent the day harvesting olives with farmers in Bruqin village, a day that began with Israeli soldiers confronting the farmer and his family and ordering them to leave their land no later than 5 p.m. Since the harvest workday typically concludes around 4 p.m., this did not prove an obstacle for the harvesters. But it was a potent reminder that the residents of Bruqin, a primarily agrarian village located in the fertile Salfit governorate area, continue to lose control over and access to their land due to ongoing Israeli military occupation.

In the last few decades, Israel has expropriated hundreds of dunams of land from Bruqin in order to build Israeli settlements, settlement “outposts,” military checkpoints, and Israeli-only settler by-pass roads. Bruqin village has existed since Roman times. Yet Israel’s historically recent military occupation is swiftly eroding this village’s existence.

Despite the vastness of the olive groves in which they were working, the buildings and vast structures of the hilltop settlements of Bruchin and Barkan Industrial Zone proved impossible for volunteers to overlook. These settlements are connected by settlement highway roads 5 and 446, which were both audible and visible from the land where volunteers were working. The sound of cars zooming by on the settler roads was ever-present.

Since its creation, Barkan Industrial Zone has pumped its wastewater into Bruqin’s agricultural land, causing pollution and the spread of disease in both humans and animals. As volunteers walked through the groves of olive trees, the stench of human waste was palpable, even in the middle of wide-open farmland. This “policy” is a continuation of past practice when Ariel, another nearby settlement, began channeling its sewage into the northeast side of the village more than twenty years ago.

Palestinians and ISM volunteers were able to harvest the rest of the day without further Zionist interference. In conversation with the farmer, however, ISMers asked the name of the settlement looming over them as they worked. They were initially confused by his answer, because it sounded as though he were simply saying the name of his own village. Carefully re-iterating and exaggerating the slight difference in pronunciation between “Bruqin” and “Bruchin” for his international listeners, the farmer explained, “They take everything. They take our land, they take our freedom. Then they take our names.”

Barkan pumps its wastewater into Bruqin’s agricultural land

Olive tree planting in the village of Bruqin

9^th April 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team | Bruqin, occupied Palestine

On 8^th April 2017 an ISM team joint Abu Skander, a farmer from the village of Bruqin, Salfit district, to plant 30 new olive trees on his field within the village. The village is located close to the illegal Israeli settlement of Bruchin and several others.

Since the beginning of 2017, the Israeli water company Mekorot has started to build new water and sewage pipelines for nearby illegal Israeli settlements, on private Palestinian farmland near Bruqin. Abu Skander found six trees cut down and 14 trees were damaged, after the company first started its work on 30^th January. This happened during the building of a temporary street on the field, as first step of the construction activities. Three of his neighbors lost another 20 olive trees and many more were damaged at this time. In total 2.5 dunums of agricultural land has been destroyed so far.

Construction work on Palestinian land for illegal Israeli settlements

Approximately two weeks ago, the company started to lay the pipes while the farmers were trying to talk to the construction workers and preventing them from destroying their fields, sometimes by standing in front of the bulldozers. The Israeli army was eventually called in. After some arguing, the Israeli forces eventually requested the construction workers to leave the site due to an existing agreement. The agreement states that no trees should be cut down and the land has to be given back after finishing the construction work. Nevertheless, this agreement was reached between the Israeli civilian administration and the water company, without any approval or voice from the farmers.

The construction workers then continued to work on a different part of the field without olive trees. However, after a few days the company returned to work on the other field and as a result, even more trees were cut down and damaged. This time the Israeli army told the farmers that they would come with army vehicles and destroy everything themselves, if they keep resisting. The laying of the pipes is currently ongoing, which makes it impossible for the farmers to return and work on their fields.

The construction of the water infrastructure for the illegal Israeli settlement has not just caused already considerable agricultural losses; it is also a threat to the health of the farmers. One of the farmers suffered an anxiety attack, after he was exposed to the stressful and exhausting situation of seeing his livelihood being destroyed. He was treated in hospital with an intravenous drip and oxygen for several hours; and still has to take medication because of the after effects.

Although the company offered a compensation (either new trees or money), which Abu Skander has rejected, the economic loss is still much higher and he simply demands that they leave his land. It needs years of hard work and resources until the new olive trees bear the same amount of fruits than the already 45yo, which were destroyed. It is not just, that for the construction and expansion of illegal Israeli settlements private Palestinian land often gets confiscated or damaged; despite plentiful water resources, the water supply for the Palestinian residents in the area is highly restricted, whereas, this is not the case for the illegal Israeli settlements.

The town of Bruqin, in the Salfit municipality, is surrounded by a string of illegal Israeli settlements belonging to the ‘Ariel finger’ – a stretch of illegal settlements that carves in deep into the West Bank in an attempt to split the West Bank in two. These settlements have also been exposed as unlawfully dumping untreated waters and sewage onto Palestinian land. The residents of Bruqin are regularly subjected to harassment by settlers and the Israeli army. The farmers are often verbally and physically attacked whilst working on their fields or are even denied access to their own land by the Israeli army.

Palestinian arrested in night raid on his family’s home

25nd January 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Bruqin, Occupied Palestine

At around 4:00 AM on January 23, Israeli forces arrested 22-year-old Raja Sabra in the course of a violent raid on his family’s home in the Palestinian village of Bruqin.

His father was awakened by noises coming from outside. Twenty to thirty Israeli soldiers had surrounded the house, advancing past the gate to the family’s door. Soldiers broke the metal door open.

DSC08276 bruqin door — Soldiers damaged the family’s metal door – photo by ISM

Israeli forces entered the house and forced all the women into one room and the men into another. Ten family members were present, including three young children. Some soldiers were masked and acted extremely aggressive. No soldiers gave any explanation to the family members, and when asked why they were there, they yelled at the family to “shut up and be quiet!”

The soldiers searched the house, turning over furniture and opening all the drawers and chests, destroying the family’s possessions including a dining room chair. One soldier stole about 3000 to 4000 NIS (about 750 to 1000 USD) from inside the drawer of the bedside table. The soldiers also took the hard-drive of the family computer, and Raja’s laptop and cellphone before arresting him.

bruqin bedroom — The Sabra family’s bedroom after the night raid – photo by ISM

The raid lasted about an hour. Before the soldiers left they arrested Raja, without giving any reason or details about the where they were taking him or for how long. “Where are you bringing Raja?” his pregnant sister-in-law asked the soldiers. In answer, she had a gun pointed at her was ordered to sit down and be quiet. Soldiers responded to any attempt to talk to them with similar aggression. When Raja’s brother tried to find out information about what was happening, a soldier stomped on his foot with his heavy military boots. The children started to cry from fear. The soldiers left with Raja, scratching the family´s car with their guns as they left.

The Salfit-area village of Bruqin lies next to the illegal Israeli settlement of Barqan. About two years ago, people from Bruqin held a demonstration against the settlement, which is constantly expanding, illegally claiming more land and destroying the land of Palestinian farmers. One night after the demonstration, approximately 100 Israeli soldiers invaded Bruqin, raiding thirteen 13 homes and arresting 12 teenagers. According to a village resident, after this incident Bruqin had been relatively quiet and rarely subject to military incursions.

One day before the January 23 raid, Israeli military vehicles entered the center of Bruqin in the late evening. They maintained their presence for numerous hours before leaving. The military’s raid on the Sabra family’s home was the first the family had ever been subjected to. Raja, a student taking his final year of Civil Engineering at An-Najah National University, had never been previously arrested or detained by Israeli forces. The family hopes a human rights organization can help to find Raja, and that he will be released soon. One day after the incident, they still had not heard anything about where Raja is being detained, or for how long.

Demolitions in Bruqin: “If you really want peace, you wouldn’t take what’s mine”

2nd April 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Bruqin, Occupied Palestine

On the 1^st of April, at approximately 5.30 AM, a bulldozer and eight military jeeps arrived in the village of Bruqin close to the city of Nablus. The bulldozer first destroyed a farmers shed, killing the ten rabbits inside. The destruction continued as a caravan belonging to another farmer was also demolished, and finally later the same night, a building belonging to a farmer in the nearby village of Beit Furik was also destroyed.

This is just one of many nights where Palestinian property has been demolished by the Israeli army. Inside the village of Bruqin a girl’s school, recently financed by US Aid, is threatened by a demolition order.

The mayor of Bruqin spoke to an ISM activist after the demolitions:

“I talked to some Israeli settlers one week ago, and told them that we could live in peace, together. But they replied that they want another 700 dunums of land from Bruqin. So, I don’t think that they want peace. If you really want peace, you wouldn’t take what’s mine”.

The resistance in Bruqin against the illegal expansion of settlements continues. The day after the demolitions, men, women and children of the village went out on the hills close to a nearby illegal settlement and planted olive trees.

Israeli forces arrest and hold 13-year-old for seven hours

20th March 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Bruqin, Occupied Palestine

On Tuesday 18^thMarch, Israeli forces entered the village of Bruqin and arrested 13-year-old Abdel Hafez Mohammed, holding him for seven hours before releasing him later in the day.

Abdel Hafez Mohammed Samara was working on his land, picking ‘aqoub’ (a local plant), and allowing his sheep to grave, when an Israeli soldier and two security guards called him to the closest road, which is nearby the illegal settlement of Ariel.

Abdel went to speak to the soldier and the security staff and he was told to throw away the small broken knife that he had been using to cut away the aqoub. He was then forced to kneel down, while guns were pointed directly at him. At that moment, Walid Samara, a local teacher who had been working in the nearby village of Hares stopped on the road close to Abdel. He was threatened at gunpoint and then beaten as two Israeli police officers arrived to arrest him and Abdel.

The police officer then accused Abdel of threatening the guards with his knife, and Walid of attacking them with stones. They were both taken to a nearby checkpoint, Walid was then released but Abdel was taken to the police station in the illegal settlement of Ariel.

Abdel was then interrogated for four hours before his father was called. Once his father arrived, he was able to see his son, but not allowed to say anything during the interrogation. The Israeli police took fingerprints from both Abdel and his father before forcing them both to sign conditions saying that did not have the right to go back to the land to graze their sheep or to cut aqoub.

Israeli forces are increasingly intimidating, beating and arresting Palestinians, and the arrest of children is unfortunately common. In the second half of February alone, Israeli forces arrested 31 children. According to recent figures by the Prisoners’ Affairs Ministry, as many as 187 Palestinian children remain jailed in Israeli prisons on various charges.