Tag: Buffer Zone - Page 11 - International Solidarity Movement

Bulldozing the ceasefire

15 — 17 January 2013 | Khuza’a, Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestine

At about 8.30pm on Tuesday 15th January, Israeli tanks and military bulldozers breached the border adjacent to the village of Khuza’a, east of Khan Younis and intruded inside the Gaza Strip. The incursion into Palestinian farmland continued through the night and added to the long list of Israeli ceasefire violations.

Heavy shooting was reported during the assault but fortunately there were no injuries on this occasion. Also, explosions were heard but no homes were damaged. Terrified locals contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross but were told that the Israeli military wouldn’t listen to anyone.

The raid continued on the night of Wednesday 16th January, when Apache helicopters were reported to have also been deployed. Then, on Thursday 17th January, the Israeli military aggression continued in the area for a third consecutive night.

A large swathe of agricultural land was damaged, about eight kilometres along the border fence and about 250 metres back from it. Within this area about 300 dumuns were razed, including wheat crops planted in December. Fields belonging to about 500 different farmers were affected, according to local officials. Farmers have attempted to approach their lands since the attack but haven’t been able to reach land closer than 100 metres from the fence.

The mayor of Khuza’a, Kamal Al-Najar, explained that 800 of the 2,000 dunums of agricultural land in Khuza’a is close to the border fence and wasn’t accessible prior to Israel’s eight-day offensive on Gaza in November. At that time, farmers in Khuza’a had only been able to access their lands which lay half a kilometre or more from the border fence.

Since the ceasefire announcement, they have accessed land 300 metres from the fence and had managed to cultivate about 400 dunums within that area for the first time in ten years. However, most of this has now been destroyed in last week’s attack. Over the course of the last ten years, the Israeli military has destroyed olive and citrus groves, greenhouses and water pumping facilities in the border areas.

A farmer from Khuza´a, photo by Desde Palestina — A farmer from Khuza´a pointing at his land that was bulldozed by the Israeli Army last week. (Photo: Desde Palestina)

Damaged farmland near the border, photo by Desde Palestina — Razed farmland in the “Buffer Zone” in Khuza´a. An Israeli automated gun-tower can be seen in the background. An Israeli soldier stationed at the other side of the border made two warning shots on the ground a few moments after this photo was taken. (Text and photo: Desde Palestina)

Israeli forces fire on Gaza farmers and internationals in Khuza’a [Update: Video Added]

12th December 2012 | Khuza’a, Besieged Gaza.

Gaza- Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at unarmed farmers and international activists working in Khuza’a, a small village outside of Khan Younis located near the Israeli border. At 10:30 AM, the farmers arrived and began to plough approximately 100 meters from the separation fence while internationals lined up in between the border and the farmers. They were quickly met by an Israeli military jeep and transport vehicle. An Israeli soldier issued a warning in Arabic to leave the area and then fired two rounds into the air. The farmers and internationals remained calm and continued their work and the Israeli soldiers left the area.

At around 11 AM, approximately 20 Palestinians and farmers gathered around 300meters back from the fence. Two military jeeps returned to the area. One soldier exited his vehicle and fired four shots in the direction of the farmers and activists. The fourth shot crossed the line of the activists and landed in the field being ploughed. Again, the Palestinians and internationals were not deterred. The Israeli jeeps left and the farmers finished working on this section of land and moved on to an adjacent plot.

Fifteen minutes later, two Israeli jeeps returned, one equipped with an automatic machine gun. A soldier fired three canisters of tear gas directly in front of the activists. He proceeded to shoot at the tractor, damaging its engine and bringing the work to a halt. An international was accompanying the driver aboard the tractor. The accompaniment team included participants from Spain, Italy, France, England, Scotland, Germany and the United States

Gazan farmers successfully ploughed and sowed wheat in adjacent plots, with the presence of internationals, during the two days prior to the incident. Though they were issued warnings by Israeli forces to stay 100 meters from the fence, they were not fired upon in a similar fashion. “This incident is a prime example of the military harassment and unpredictability of the Israeli occupation forces that farmers routinely face while working their land in Gaza,” said a solidarity activist from Spain. For a report from the previous days farming, see https://palsolidarity.org/2012/12/gazan-farmers-at-work-in-kuzaa/.

Residents from Khuza’a said they have not planted in this area, declared a closed military zone by Israel, for the past thirteen years. Formerly an orchard, Israeli forces bulldozed the field multiple times during military incursions and regularly shoots at farmers who attempt to work there. Farmers were under the impression that this area was now accessible after the November 21st ceasefire’s stipulations that Israeli forces would “refrain from targeting residents in the border areas” and to “stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals.” This is the optimum season for planting wheat and the Gazan farmers only have a small window of time in which to work before the land will be rendered unusable.

Gaza fishermen after the ceasefire [includes a video]

6 December 2012 | Johnny Barber

On Wednesday 5th December, Gaza fishermen staged a peaceful protest in the port of Gaza City, in order to highlight the Israeli attacks on their livelihoods. They were supported by the local Fishing Union, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

Gaza fishermen constantly face Israeli military aggression in Gazan territorial waters – just as farmers attempting to work their land in the buffer zone have been facing on a regular basis since Israel’s massive assault on Gaza in late November. Both cases constitute a violation of the fragile ceasefire.

Demonstration in solidarity with Gaza fishermen on Wednesday, 5 December 2012 at Gaza port

4 December 2012 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

A demonstration in solidarity with Gaza Fishermen is planned for Wednesday, 5 December 2012, to be held at Gaza Port at 10am.

In the period between Wednesday, 28 November, and Saturday, 1 December, at least 29 fishermen have been arrested, at least 9 fishing boats have been impounded (including a larger trawling vessel), and one boat has been destroyed. The fishermen’s reports are generally the same: they are fishing within the new 6 mile limit (or even within the former 3 mile limit) when Israeli gunboats approach and start firing at them, often aiming at the motor. They order fishermen to strip down to their undergarments, jump into the water, and swim towards the gunboat, where they are handcuffed and blindfolded, and sometimes beaten. Some are taken to Ashdod or Erez and interrogated. Most are released the same day, although Amar Bakr is still being held at Ashdod. Most of the confiscated boats have belonged to the Bakr family, while the Hessi family has also been attacked.

An announcement was issued by the Hamas government stating that the maritime boundaries had been extended from three to six nautical miles under the terms of the recent ceasefire. International standards set the limit at 12 miles, while the Oslo Accords granted Gaza fishermen 20 miles in 1995. However, this limit was reduced to three miles in January 2009 after the attacks of Operation Cast Lead.

In late January 2009, when fishermen returned to the sea after Operation Cast Lead, they were viciously attacked. Boats were completely destroyed, and many fishermen were shot, with serious injuries. Some were even shot in the back as they attempted to return to the shore. Now, nearly four years later, immediately following a ceasefire, Gaza fishermen are once again under attack. The Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement should not go unnoticed. Violations have occurred nearly every day since the agreement was brokered, with Israeli forces attacking fishermen at sea and farmers at work in the buffer zones. The question is now: who is holding Israel accountable?

More information can be found at the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). www.pchrgaza.org.

Khadr Bakr, a Gaza fisherman, in front of the Gaza port

Firshermen Sabry Mahmoud Bakr and Jamal Bakr in front of the Gaza port

Gaza: Harvesting barley at Erez crossing amidst gun fire

By Hama Waqum

19 May 2012 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza

Ten Palestinian volunteers harvested wheat in Gaza’s northern no-go zone on Wednesday, May 16, only 350 meters from where the Israeli Apartheid wall encircles the Gaza Strip. Two weeks ago the barley was cut and gathered and on Wednesday, volunteers loaded the harvest onto donkey carts to transport it for sorting, in the face of Apache helicopters, tanks, and F-16 fighter jets.

Palestinian farmers harvesting barley near the no-go zone in Gaza despite risk of Israeli army attack.

The work began at approximately 8:45am in northern Beit Hanoun, and immediately an Israeli tank became visible on a distant hill. A few minutes later, a helicopter circled above and would remain there for three hours. At 9:10, a number of jeeps patrolled the border and by 11:30, one of the Israeli outposts fired 8 shots at a point slightly further than the farmland. Over the next hour, a total of around 30 shots were fired from the same outpost.

The volunteers offered to help the owner to farm his land, due to its proximity to the Apartheid Wall. A distance of 300 meters to the border is considered the ‘no-go zone’, in which the Israeli Government prohibits farming. Even farmers outside the no-go zone, however, come under regular fire simply for their proximity to the Wall. Volunteers from the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative team farmed for six hours, joined by International Solidarity Movement volunteers.

The team of volunteers successfully finished transporting the barley despite the military presence.

Hama Waqum is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement.