Tag: Farmers

Wadi Qana’s Palestinian farmers endure another mass tree uprooting

5th April 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

Just days after Palestinians commemorated Land Day, a day which marks the struggle against the Israeli government’s expropriation of Palestinian land, farmers of Wadi Qana endured another mass uprooting and theft of their trees.
Speaking from his home in the Salfit district village of Deir Istiya, Palestinian activist Rezeq Abu Nasser cited the frustrating chronology, “This is the third time they took my trees.  They stole them in 2013 and 2015 as well.”  He then handed ISM volunteers the Arabic/Hebrew notice that he found posted on a fence he erected at a cost of over 1,000 NIS to protect his trees.  Abu Nasser’s fence was also dismantled and seized along with 25 of his trees.

Palestinian farmers received warrants stating their trees were threatened.

The notice received by four Palestinian farmers demands that they uproot their own trees or face arrest and/or fines to cover the cost of Israeli occupation forces uprooting the trees for them.  Soon after, 135 trees were uprooted and stolen during the small hours of morning after several bulldozers entered the valley, hauled large stones into the road to block the entryway and rammed through part of a 40 meter stone wall to access the trees.

Citing environmental justifications for these aggressive acts of theft, an Israeli government spokesperson for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territory was quoted as saying that the trees were uprooted due to their “damaging the natural view and value of the nature resort.”  Claiming the act to be one of protection of the view of a lush valley from the sight of trees is even more absurd, given that the Israeli forces left a partially demolished stone wall and broken tree limbs scattered atop a small field of holes where the trees once took root.

While speaking to the Mayor of Deir Istiya, his office produced copies of the issued warrants for the threatened trees and the generations old British land deeds affirming the farmers’ rights to their ancestral land. The Mayor of Deir Istiya described arriving at the Wadi Qana immediately after being alerted to the uprootings in progress, only to find the road blockage Israeli forces left to keep farmers and residents from defending their land.  As for the stone wall, he claimed,”This is a new experience for us that they demolished the stones.”

The farmers who lost their trees, tantamount to their livelihood, plan to continue their struggle against these incursions by furthering their cases with the local municipality. As for Abu Nasser, “I’m going to replant them again.”

Madama village marks Land Day 2017 under heavy military violence

31st March 2017  |  International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah team  |  Madama, occupied Palestine

Palestinians gathered in Madama village to plant olive trees during Land Day

Thursday the 30th of March was Land Day, a day in which Palestinians and their supporters commemorate the loss of huge amounts of land, stolen by the Zionist colonisers in 1976. In Madama village, in the Nablus area, around 300 Palestinian activists with some internationals marched to the outskirts of their village to plant olive trees on village land which has been stolen by the extremist illegal settlement Yitzhar. This non-violent action came under heavy attack by the Israeli Forces with more than 45 people shot with rubber-coated metal bullets and many more suffering from tear gas inhalation.

At around 12pm the march set off from the centre of Madama with many people carrying flags and singing songs, including women, children and men. After climbing a steep street up onto the fields at the edge of the village people began to plant olive trees. There were Israeli Army vehicles and around 20 heavily armed soldiers waiting for the demonstration on the hillside. As people began to plant olive trees the soldiers started to shoot tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets without any warning. Despite this repression, people continued to plant trees and a small group of people responded to the tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets with stones.

Israeli settlers stood next to the Israeli Forces while tear gas was being shot

Over the next two hours or so, the Israeli forces became more and more aggressive firing rubber-coated metal bullets at anyone who was there, often at head height. If someone was injured and on the floor they would fire upon them again and at the people coming to rescue them, even if they were clearly marked as medics. According to the Red Crescent at least 45 people were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets throughout the demonstration. An activist from ISM was also shot with both a rubber-coated metal bullet and hit with a tear gas canister upon their lower legs whilst providing medical support to the injured.

Extremist settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar also came to attack the demonstration with stones. They were held off by the people of the demonstration and after talking to the army sat and watched the Israeli forces fire upon unarmed demonstrators.

More than 45 people suffered injuries and needed assistance

Despite this extreme repression of a group of unarmed demonstrators, people did not leave until all the trees were planted, demonstrating that this is their land and they will not be threatened into not using it.

The villages around the illegal Yitzhar settlement have suffered a huge amount since it was set up in 1983. The extremist inhabitants of this settlement regularly attack Palestinians with impunity, sometimes even killing them. They regularly intimidate Palestinians off their farm lands, attack buildings and lands in the local villages, throw stones at Palestinian cars, and, block roads, these attacks are done with the protection of the Israeli Army. Yitzhar is just one example of the over 196 illegal settlements built throughout the West Bank, supported by Israel, but deemed illegal by the international community.

Susya faces demolition for the eighth time

27th February 2017  |  International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team  |  Susya, occupied Palestine

 

Susiya
Susiya

The village of Susya in the south Hebron hills faced complete demolition again yesterday as the Israeli court, and the villagers, waited for the Israeli government to announce its plan for demolition.  The Israeli government asked the court for a 48 hour continuance, which means that the plan will probably be provided to the court on Tuesday 28th February and demolition may begin on Wednesday 1st March.

Internationals from ISM and from Christian Peacemaker Teams were asked by villagers to be present in Susya yesterday to give support should demolition go ahead.  The presence of internationals cannot prevent demolition but may encourage Israeli forces to empty the tents about to be demolished with more care, and will provide the international community with documentation of the demolition.

Nasser al Nawajja from the village is used to facing situations like this.  He told us that he felt that some demolition this year is inevitable, but that delays are good because when the weather is better it is easier to cope with the disruption and to rebuild.  The Israeli government is under intense pressure from local settlers and Israeli right wing political groups to remove Susya altogether, but there is strong pressure and support also from the international community which will make complete demolition difficult.  What is most likely, says Nasser, are piecemeal demolitions.

This will not be the first demolition or expulsion faced by the village: since the villagers were turned out of their cave dwellings half a mile away in 1986 for a ‘Jewish archeological park’ they have lived in semi-permanent tent dwellings which have been either demolished or expelled seven times already.  This will be the eighth demolition and, Nasser says, ‘We will rebuild.  We rebuilt seven times already.  We will rebuild again.  A seventh and an eighth time.’

Susya is a symbol of what is happening in the rural West Bank.  Strong settler pressure for expansion of confiscated land meets weak international pressure to preserve some vestige of hope for a two state solution (still championed by the international community).  Who will win this battle is anyone’s guess now that Trump is in the White House.  But the lives of the people of Susya continue to be under threat. As Nasser says, ‘The settlers are in the White House now.’

 

 

 

Assira, surrounded on all sides

Assira al Quiblya is a West Bank village up on a hill between Huwwara and Nablus.  But unfortunately, it is not sufficiently uphill enough to be free and safe from the Yitzhar settlement.  This settlement, one of the most active in assaults, makes life more and more difficult for the Palestinian inhabitants.

outpost
Illegal colonial settlement Yitzhar

For many years Assira has faced the violence of the same script the rest of the occupied territories has faced: night raids, tear gas, sound bombs, and destruction of properties.  There is tremendous fear, and the loss of peace and safety.

Currently, Assira is faced with a new problem, not coming from Yitzhar (for the moment), but from its own authorities – those who have the duty to protect its people.  It’s hard to believe, but the Village Council has decided, without any consultation with the population, to open a road that will allow the settlers to reach the village more easily and quickly.

The path starts at the edge of Assira and this naturally frightens a lot the people living there, as they are completely exposed to the potential assaults from their extremists neighbors.  In order to open the track, they will have to uproot olive trees, a source of both possible income and an important symbol for the Palestinian people.  There has been no permission from the owners for this.  Wasn’t there sufficient suffering and uncertainty already?

A group of citizens have gone to the Regional Authority hoping to find help to stop the project. It is absurd that the Palestinian people now must fight against the organising body that are supposed to be in charge of defending their rights.  It is already a difficult situation caused by the violence of the illegal colonizing settlers and soldiers of the Israeli Occupation Forces.

The struggle continues for this community.  Latest news states that the illegal colonial settlers have built a tower near the houses in order to continue to expand their territory.

Is there no end to their bullying?

 

Link to OCHA report from 2012 of settlement violence on the Palestinian village:  https://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_yitzhar_map_february_2012_map_english.pdf

Protective Presence at Burin olive harvest

24th October 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus-team | Burin, occupied Palestine

Today, international activists joined members of the Najjar family from the village of Burin to harvest their olives and provide a protective presence should settler colonists or Israeli forces attempt to attack and disrupt the harvesting. Thankfully, there were no violent incidents todayand the international activists enjoyed a beautiful day harvesting olives with the wonderful and hospitable Najjar family.

The Najjar family’s land is adjacent to the illegal Israeli settlement Yitzar. This year, the family was issued a permit to access their land for only three days to harvest their olives. The permits required by Israel for Palestinian farmers to access their own land are also typically restricted to limited times each day. According to the family, three days is not nearly enough time to harvest their whole crop. As a result, international activists have been harvesting olives together with the farmers without permits which brings the risk of retaliation by both settler colonists and Israeli forces. It has been reported that settler colonists often harvest Palestinian’s olives for themselves without any repercussion. The Najjar family reported that this year they counted four of their trees stripped of their olives before they had the opportunity to access their land themselves.

All of these restrictions together with the settler colonist violence serve to further the theft of Palestinian land. Often, farmers are only given permission to access their land during harvest time and not throughout the year so as to maintain their corps and ensure a good harvest. One member of the family told us, “last year my father came to clear the land, but they kicked him out.”

olive-2
The city of Burin, with the illegal Israeli settlement of Bracha that lies atop the hill to the upper right.

The village of Burin is trapped between Yitzar and Bracha illegal settlements and has endured settler colonist violence and the destruction of their olive trees for years. As is the case for villages across the occupied West Bank, the farmers in Burin depend economically on the olive harvest to provide annual income for their families. “Its so important because there is no work. All the people wait for the olive harvest to come because the only work available is to sell olive oil. They live for justice and oil.”