Tag: Farmers - Page 24 - International Solidarity Movement

In Photos: The survival of olives

16 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The olive harvest started in theWest Bankin early October and will continue in some villages until mid-November. Olives have been cultivated in Palestinian land for thousands of years. Around 95% of the harvest is used to make olive oil, with the remainder for pickles, table olives, and soap. The harvest is worth around 364m shekels (£64m) a year to the fragile Palestinian economy, struggling under the burden of occupation. Up to 100,000 families depend upon the olive harvest for their livelihoods to some extent, according to the UN.

Olives are also symbol of Palestinian culture and a connection to the land. Olive picking contains a strong political dimension; particularly in villages which are vulnerable to settler attacks and interference from the Israeli military.

Olive Harvest 2011 - Click here for more images

Settler attacks on olive groves have escalated in recent years. In previous harvests settlers have fired live ammunition at olive farmers and have burnt and uprooted thousands of trees. Israeli security forces are often unwilling to intervene during settler attacks and they regularly interfere with olive harvests, forcing farmers to seek permission to pick olives on their own land and only granting short periods to complete picking over large areas. Even when permission is granted, the Israeli military may still arbitrarily force olive farmers to cease picking; often offering no reason or falsely declaring ‘closed military zones’.

The presence of international volunteers to document and use non-violent action to intervene can reduce the threat of violence from settlers and the Israeli military. It is also a vital expression of solidarity with beleaguered Palestinian farmers.

Whilst the heavily armed settlers often attack olive farmers with impunity, the Palestinian farmers have limited means to protect themselves. As Ibrahim El-Buriny, a 27 year old olive farmer from Burin, says “We don’t have anything to protect ourselves except a rock, our heart and God.” El-Buriny remains defiant in spite of the mounting pressure he faces, “The land is like our mother and father. We can’t leave our land and who would?”

Israeli military “superiors” interfere in Burin’s olive harvest

by Alistair George

12 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

The Israeli military ordered villagers to stop picking olives on their own land in Burin, near Nablus, today. The soldiers refused to give a reason for suspending the harvest.

“It is nothing to do with us, we just get orders from our superiors,” they said.

Villagers from Burin were picking olives on their land high up in the hills, near the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar. At around 8 AM Palestinian farmers and ISM activists entered the land closest to the settlement, and after just a few minutes an Israeli security truck was visible on the hilltop next to the land. Four soldiers arrived in an armoured vehicle at around 8:30 AM and instructed villagers to immediately stop picking olives in the area. They stated that villagers must ask for permission and would only be given three days to finish picking all the olives on their land. The farmers continued the harvest further away from the settlement.

At around midday, a military vehicle was again seen driving through the olive groves further down the hill, closer to the main road. At one point the vehicle left the track, breaking branches as it maneuvered through the densely planted olive grove.

Ghassan Najjar, 21, is the Director of the Community Centre in Burin. His father owns the land nearest the settlement. He said that it was common for the Israeli military to interfere with Burin’s olive harvest.

“I was extremely uncomfortable today – I controlled my emotions for my father’s sake and to avoid escalating the situation, otherwise nothing would make me leave my land.”

Settler attacks have been escalating in recent years. This year settlers have already attacked locals four times since April and more than 4,000 trees have been burnt down. Gangs of settlers have fired live ammunition and thrown stones at villagers during olive harvests in previous years.

Alistair George is an activist with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).

Demolitions: Israel annexing more land in Kufr ad-Dik and Salfit

4 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Homes destroyed in Kufr ad-Dik and Salfit - Click here for more pictures

On Tuesday around 11am the Israeli army carried out demolitions in the West Bank towns of Beit Ula and Kufr ad-Dik, destroying homes, animal pens, wells and hundreds of trees.

Yousef Muhammed Turshan sat amongst the rubble that used to be the home for him, his wife, and 5 children.

“This is our only home, I don’t know where we will sleep tonight. They destroyed the building that held the sheep and now they have gone missing. This is my children’s future they are destroying.”

The Tursham family lost the tent they lived in as well as 2 brick rooms, an animal pen, and a water cistern. Their land was one of 3 sites demolished in Beit Ula. In total the Israeli army destroyed 1 residential tent, 4 brick rooms, 4 animal barracks , 4 wells, 2 irrigation systems, 150 olive trees and 400 other trees and vines. In Kufr ad-Dik, west of Saflit at least 2 animal barracks and a water well were also destroyed.

Another farmer from a site in Beit Ula showed the wasteland that had just a few hours ago, been full of hundreds of olive and fruit trees.

“I have cared for this land where they destroyed for years, checking every plant everyday. We pay 40 shekels per cubic metre of water from Israeli companies just to water them. I used to go out every night with a torch to check that the irrigation system was working correctly, now they are all destroyed and all our efforts were for nothing.”

After the bulldozers uprooted the 150 olive trees they also confiscated them from the land so that nothing could be salvaged. The farmers told us that they managed to save one home from demolition by sitting in front of it and refusing to move. However the house still has a demolition order on it, and they know that the army will return eventually to destroy it.

All of the farmers told us that they had documents proving that they owned the land, the sites destroyed were all at least 1 kilometre from the Israeli apartheid wall and there are no settlements in close proximity.

One of the farmers explained that the demolitions could not have been for security reasons because pine trees much closer to the wall were not destroyed. He believes they want to drive the farmers out from the land so that it can be claimed as state property after 3 years of not being used.

There are a further 11 demolition orders around Beit Ula, which means many families have to live with the fear that their homes, buildings or crops may be destroyed at any time.

Essam Aoudhi: Martyred in defense of Qusra

23 September 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Today Essam Kamal Abed Aoudhi, a 35 year old father of 8 children from the village of Qusra, was murdered by the Israeli army as they fired live ammunition indiscriminately into a crowd of villagers gathered in their village.

From the nearby outpost of Esh Kodesh (“Holy Head”) built entirely on stolen Qusra land, a large group of settlers left the settlement and entered the village just after 1pm and began attacking villagers and burning olive groves. As the villagers gathered to protect themselves and their land, the soldiers arrived and stood between the settlers and villagers, protecting the settlers who retreated.

Soldiers instantly began to fire tear gas canisters, rubber bullets and live ammunition directly at villagers, making no attempt to disperse but intending solely to injure.

Mohammad Abdul Odeh, age 16, was shot in the stomach with a high velocity tear gas canister as he stood on his land.

Remi Hassan was shot with 4 rubber bullets and one dum dum from 2 meters away by the Israeli military.

Remi Yusef Faiz Hassan, age 35, was shot with 4 rubber bullets and one dum dum from 2 meters as he peacefully walked to soldiers to ask why they allow the settlers to enter his village and burn his trees.

Sameeh Hassan, age 24, was shot in the groin with rubber bullets as he attempted to reach his olive trees and extinguish the fire destroying them.

Essam Aoudhi was shot with live ammunition as he joined his fellow villagers protesting the army’s incursion into his village. According to Dr. Sameh Abu Zaroh, a doctor at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, the wound on Essam’s body shows that the bullet was shot from just a few meters away and from below in such a way to insure maximum injury. The bullet entered the right side of Essam’s chest and exited through the top of his back, fracturing his vertebrae in multiple places.

After Essam was carried to an ambulance, the soldiers left immediately, clearly understanding what had just happened. The people of Qusra returned to the centre of the village where children had gathered, shouting slogans expressing their anger over Essam’s martyrdom.

As the sun set in Qusra, the punishment continued, as two teenagers stumbled into the village before collapsing to the ground in pain. Both Amar Masameer, age 19, and Fathi Hassan, age 16, were arrested earlier in the day as they made their way towards Qusra’s burning olive trees.

They did not resist arrest yet returned to the village dripping with blood and faces so swollen they were barely recognisable. Once arrested, Fathi Hassan explained, settlers from the outpost had asked the soldiers detaining them for permission to beat the two boys. The soldiers did not interfere and so the settlers began stoning the boys whilst their hands where cuffed behind their backs. Amar Masameer was hit directly in the eye with a stone thrown from just a few meters and is now in Rafidia hospital awaiting treatment.

Broken wrists and arrests by Israeli military as farmers cultivate Beit Ummar

10 September 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Supporting Palestinian farmers in Beit Ummar, international activists joined the weekly Saturday activities–clearing the land for cultivation despite the harrassment of Israeli military and illegal settlers, which resulted in the injury of a Palestinian man and the arrest of a British national, Jude Wells.

At 9 AM the solidarity march to protect the farmland of Beit Ummar began from the local mosque to the main gate of the illegal Israeli settlement, Karmi Tzur. Dozens of citizens, Israeli and foreign activists participated in the march. Volunteeres removed the brush and thorns as well as the irrigation networks that the settlers put in to desecrate the farmland. Participants started chanting slogans in support of the creation of a Palestinian state.

Israeli soldiers arrived in the lane next to the field and began entering the field to prevent the farmers working. When work began again soldiers and border police briefly showed a military closure order to one of the Palestinian farmers. It was not possible to check the legality of the order and a request to photograph the order was refused.

But with the insistence of the participants in the march, a significant amount of the participants were able to access the land intended to be controlled. Flags were held up and the Israeli army violently reacted by brutally beating activists. A large number of settlers were gathered and started screaming and insulting the Palestinians, offending Muslims, as the army stood by.

Two participants in the action were arrested including 27 year old Jude Wells of Britain, and 45 year old Ali Abad, a member of the local Popular Committee who sustained injuries to his right hand. For a video of the arrests, visit this link.

Abad who was originally handcuffed to be arrested was transported by the Red Crescent to Alya hospital to treat his broken wrist. Wells was released from detainment after ten hours.

Riyad Abuayyash, a farmer who was present and witnessed the aggression said, “I want to live in peace with my neighbors, with mutual respect, my dream is to have my own house here and grow grapes on my land.”

After the second Inifada farmers of Beit Ummar were driven from the land which borders the illegal Israeli settlement. Without support and presence of internationals, the risk of farming their own land would be potentially fatal.