Tag: Burin - Page 12 - International Solidarity Movement

Burin celebrates successful olive harvest, despite numerous settler attacks

18 November 2009

On Wednesday 18 November, the village of Burin (south of Nablus) celebrated the successful conclusion of its olive harvest. More than 400 villagers came together to hear speeches by locals and nationally renowned politicians (including member of Knesset Mohammed Baraka, general secretary of Hadash), as well as to see the young men of the village dance the Dabke, the traditional dance of Palestine.

A large stage with sound system had been set up outside the local boys’ school and the festivities commenced at around 11am. Braving weather that seemed to change every 5 minutes from pleasantly warm to freezing cold, the villagers listened to speeches and music in clear view from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar, one that has caused its fair share of problems for the village during the harvest.

Only 6 days before the event, settlers from Yitzhar attacked the fields of Burin, cutting down 97 trees. On 16 October, farmers as well as internationals were threatened by armed settlers while attempting to harvest the olives and on 28 September 150 olive trees, covering 4 dunams of land, were destroyed by settlers armed with chainsaws. It was therefore not only the end of harvesting that the residents of Burin celebrated that day, but also their success in continuing to work their fields despite persecution from their extreme-Zionist ‘neighbours’.

International activists from the ISM and Michigan Peace Team took part in the event, and a member of the ISM gave a brief speech on behalf of the internationals, thanking Burin for welcoming them and vowing that Palestine would never stand alone in its struggle against the occupation.

Settlers cut olive trees south of Nablus

12 November 2009

A group of 25 settlers from Yitzhar settlement, south of Nablus, cut down 97 olive trees in the village of Burin this morning. The attack comes on the heels of a similar attack made 5 weeks ago, and a continued campaign of intimidation and harrassment of Burin’s residents from nearby settlements Yitzhar and Bracha.

Approximately 25 settlers began hacking the trees to pieces at 3am this morning. Although cutting manually, the noise awoke a Palestinian resident, whose house is located close to the scene on the Yitzhar ‘side’ of Burin. After alerting the village, the Palestinians arrived in the olive grove as it became light to survey the damage, amongst them the owner of the land, Burin farmer Akram Brahim Embran. They counted 97 trees destroyed.

It is not the first time this year that Burin’s olive trees have been caught in the middle of territorial violence, for which Yitzhar settlers are notorious. On 4 October, a neighbouring grove was wiped out when 25 settlers took to the trees with axes in the early hours of the morning, just one day before the village’s olive harvest was due to commence. Previous years have seen fields burnt and crops stolen, in addition to continual settler harrassment and intimidation. The havoc it wreaks on Burin’s economy is obvious, agriculture its main source of income – and identity.

The village of Burin and its surrounding neighbours have been subject to numerous violent attacks from the two illegal settlements of Bracha and Yitzhar that sandwich the local Palestinian villages. Burin village as also lost thousands of dunams of land from annexation by settler construction or proximity, in addition to the repeated attacks on its remaining farmland. In 2006 settlers from the settlement of Bracha fired homemade rockets on the village, burning a house down.

Settlements are illegal under international law and both settlements have numerous outposts that continue to annex further Palestinian land in violation of both Israeli and international law.

Villagers from Burin plant 50 olive trees to replace those destroyed by settlers

29 October 2009

On Thursday, 29 October, a group of international activists accompanied Palestinian farmers and villagers from Burin to the planting of approximately 50 olive trees as a part of the ‘10,000 Trees for Nablus’ campaign to replace some of the trees destroyed by settlers during the harvest.

Although the Nablus region saw fierce rains on the morning of the tree planting, there was a strong turn up when the action began at noon. Around 60 pupils from the Burin Girls School joined the march to the fields, followed by many more Palestinians of all ages. The demonstration was also attended by 30 members of the French solidarity organisation CCIPPP (Campagne Civile Internationale pour la Protection du Peuple Palestinien). In total, the tree planting was attended by between 150 and 200 people.

Although the trees were planted close to the city of Burin, and not in the threatened lands near the illegal settlements of Yitzhar and Bracha, the planting was an important act of resilience and a testament to the Palestinian steadfastness in their demand to be allowed to work their fields. It is hoped that this will be only the first of a series of tree plantings around Palestine, including in the threatened lands found around almost every illegal settlement in the West Bank.

These acts are vital due to the constant harassment by settlers. In Burin alone, this season has seen farmers and activists threatened by armed settlers on the 16 October, an arson attack against a building under construction on the 13 September and the cutting down of some 150 olive trees by masked settlers with chainsaws on the 28 September. When farmers attempted to protest this criminal act on the following day, they were forced off their land by the Israeli military.

Olive harvest in Burin continues with more harassment from army and settlers

16 October 2009

International activists accompanied farmers today to their lands on the edge of the village of Burin, close to an outpost of the illegal settlement of Mar-Bracha, south of Nablus. Farmers enjoyed a quiet two hours of harvesting before eight settlers, one of them armed, appeared on the hill above and began approaching the farmers.

The farmers alerted the Palestinian DCO who in turn called the Israeli military. Army jeeps began to arrive and three soldiers came down to meet with the farmers, paying little attention to the four settlers still moving further down the hillside. The soldiers ordered all internationals to leave the area, declaring it a closed military zone, despite having no official proof of the claim. This has become almost a daily problem for farmers and activists working in the Burin area, as the Israeli military tightens its grip on the role international groups play in assisting farmers with the olive harvest – in the most extreme case, military officials attempted to issue a 6,000 shekel fine to Burin farmers for inviting international activists to accompany them to their land.

Settlers continued to move freely through the land, well beyond the confines of the settlement (and its outpost). The military didn’t interfere, claiming the settlers were simply walking their own land and the activists had no right (or relevance) being there. Meanwhile Border Police arrived, attempting to move both farmers and activists off the land. Eventually the military agreed to permit the farmers to continue the harvest and the activists remained too. It didn’t take long for the military to retreat and, thankfully, the settlers followed in turn. The remainder of the day continued without incident.

Residents of Burin protest the destruction of an olive grove by settlers

4 October 2009

The village of Burin came under attack from the nearby illegal settlement of Bracha on Monday the 28^th of September. At 5am 25 settlers invaded the farmland of Abid Moussar, taking to his olive trees with chainsaws. 150 trees in total, covering 4 dunums of land were destroyed, just one day before Moussar planned to begin harvesting his crops. A demonstration was called for the following Saturday on the devastated land, only for protesters to be forced off the site by the military.

The trees, planted 30 years ago by Moussar himself, will take another 10 years to rejuvenate to a point at which they can once again be harvested for their olives. The same farmland has come under attack year after year, with settlers attempting to burn the trees on several occasions. For Moussar, though he owns the largest farm in the area of Burin, the economic consequences are dire – this is his only source of income. More widely, the effects of the annexation of thousands of dunums of land by settlements Yitzhar and Bracha that envelope Burin, ripple throughout the community.

The harvest has begun regardless, with villagers working the wasted land before the trees can be cleared. Military and international presence maintain a close watch with minimal settler incursion since the initial attacks.

The following Saturday, 3 October, local and international protesters gathered in the centre of the village to march to the site of the destruction, where they hoped to demonstrate peacefully against the violent adversity on their doorstep by clearing the land, readying it for the next year and hopefully a more successful harvest. Soldiers surrounded the protesters as they approached the land, allowing them stay long enough only to clear the trees. The protesters were then forced off, as the army stated the villagers could return only on the dates given to them by the District Coordinating Office.

The village of Burin and its surrounding neighbours lost thousands of dunums of land and have been subject to numerous violent attacks from the two illegal settlements of Bracha and Yitzhar that sandwich the Palestinian villages.

Settlements are illegal under international law and both settlements have numerous outposts that continue to annex further Palestinian land in violation of both Israeli and international law.