Tag: Farmers - Page 7 - International Solidarity Movement

Israeli army prevents farmers to pick olives in Burin

9th October 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Burin, Occupied Palestine

This Friday morning, at approximately 10:30 am, a group of 6 soldiers came down the mountain from the illegal Israeli settlement, Arousa, in the village of Burin, to prevent the family of Ahmad Mustafa Najjar from picking their olives.

Israeli soldiers prevent Ahmad's family from picking their olives — Israeli soldiers prevent Ahmad’s family from picking their olives

Early in the morning, a group of illegal Israeli settlers from Arousa came to the farm and began threatening and intimidating Ahmad’s family. Ahmad’s uncle, Salah Najjar, telephoned Abu Mursi, from the District Coordination Office, to ask for help and managed to make settlers go away. Soon afterwards, a group of six soldiers arrived shouting aggressively and demanding the family to stop working. The family protested and the commander argued they were not authorized to pick olives, despite the fact that the family owns the land and trees and, therefore, does not need to have a permit. International activists asked the commander and soldiers what was the reason to stop them from picking olives from their own trees inside their privately owned land, and the commander and soldiers would not give an answer.

Abu Mursi, member of the village council, argues with commander that the family is entitled to pick olives in their field

Abu Mursi, member of the DCO, quickly arrived to the field to insist to the soldiers that the family does not need permission to pick their olives.

The argument continued for one hour, until a second commander arrived and made the decision that the family was not allowed to pick olives from the four highest trees, forcing them to move downwards to pick olives from other trees instead.

According to Ahmad, his family has lost $3.000 shekels because those 4 trees would make 120 liters of olive oil. He adds, “The soldiers violently beat my cousins, Muntasar and Mohammad, and I had to stand between them to stop the soldiers from killing them.”

Burin is a village located south west of the city of Nablus, which suffers from an ongoing harassment from the Israeli army. During the last month, Israeli soldiers have carried out several night raids into the villagers’ homes, waking up families in the middle of the night and searching their houses, with the clear purpose of terrifying the villagers.

Particularly during the olive harvest season, the farmers of Burin are scared of going to their fields to pick olives, especially in the farms located near the illegal settlements, due to the high risk of being attacked by settlers.

Note how one of the soldiers who came today is loaded with tear gas canisters; an unjustified excess of weapons

Action alert: Susiya village at high risk of demolition

11th May 2015 | Operation Dove | At Tuwani, South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine

POPULAR STRUGGLE COORDINATION COMMITTEE
AND
POPULAR STRUGGLE COMMITTEE OF SOUTH HEBRON HILLS
CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE
IN SUSIYA VILLAGE

Where: Susiya Village, South Hebron Hills

When: From now, permanently

What: Popular Struggle Coordination Committee and Popular Struggle committee of South Hebron Hills has just opened the “Solidarity tent” and invites you all to bring your solidarity and your support in order to save Susiya village from the eviction plan. Internationals are also invited to document and to spread the information about the situation in Susiya.

Why: In 1986 the village of Susiya was declared archeological site, its land expropriated and inhabitants were evicted and forced to move in their nearby agricultural land where on 2012, Israel’s Civil Administration distributed demolition orders to over 50 temporary structures. In 2014 the residents of Susiya, represented by Rabbis for Human Rights, sued for a request to freeze the demolition order’s implementation. In 2015, on May 5, the Israeli High Court rejected that request, allowing the demolition of the village.

Now the threat to be evicted and deported again, becomes more imminent for the inhabitants of Susiya.
Please come to participate at the initiative.

Contact: 059 9330164, Hafez al-Hreini
Contact: 054 992 5773, Operation Dove

Read more about the background and the current situation in Susiya here.

UPDATE: Shepherds in Salem

7th May 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Huwarra Team | Salem, Occupied Palestine

Update 14th May:

The wheat is not ready for harvest yet. The call for people to help the shepherds and farmers on their land is postponed until next Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd. Please come in numbers as the Israeli forces are making it harder and harder for them to live of their land.

*******

The farmers and shepherds of Salem, near Nablus, are asking for you help. They are being beaten, humiliated and pushed off their land. They are asking you to join them on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th to help them save their harvest.

Mahfouda - shepherd from Salem who's worked her land for 40 years — Mahfouda – shepherd from Salem who’s worked her land for 40 years

In the village of Salem, near Nablus, the wheat is ready for harvesting. Once the crop has been collected, the sheep and goats will graze on the leftovers in the field and the shepherds will then milk them in order to make cheese and butter. The animal’s droppings are dispersed on the land; a perfect cycle is created.

However, Israeli occupation forces have forbidden the farmers from harvesting the wheat and forbidden the shepherds from crossing the road that cuts through their land, dividing it in two. See report written by the International Women’s Peace Service here.

Harassment happens on a daily basis and many of the shepherds can recount life-threatening stories. This is the case with Rabih, for instance. Only five days ago, as he was taking his sheep out to graze and was accompanied by his young nephew who was going out into the fields to work for the first time in his life; Israeli soldiers arrived. They pointed their guns to his brother’s head, threw his nephew to the ground and attacked Rabih with the butt of an M16 rifle. They ordered Rabah to take his clothes off. When Rabih refused they beat him and took him away blindfolded and handcuffed and threw him out hours later in the middle of the countryside. “I am getting used to being humiliated”.

Shepherds and farmers are asking for a large number of people to accompany them on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th May. From early in the morning, they will attempt to work a part of their land to the east of Salem that the occupation forces are preventing them from using. A call out will be made on the mosque’s megaphone to gather as many people from the village as possible.

These dates are coordinated with the 67th anniversary of Naqba day, when the ethnic cleansing of Palestine started. in 2014, 67% of Palestinians were registered as refugees or Internally Displaced Persons, according to UNWRA. Until today, they have not been allowed to return to their homes. Those who have been ‘lucky enough’ to not be pushed out are living either as third class citizen within the now called state of Israel, or under military occupation inside the West Bank and Gaza. Many Palestinians live from their land and it is part of the whole zionist expansion plan to grab more and more of it by whatever means possible.

Come and work with the farmers and shepherds of Salem, along with many others from the village, to help repossess their stolen land. Extra presence throughout the whole harvest season is also being called for as the attacks and threats are ongoing.

For more information, you can get in touch with ISM: palreports@gmail.com

Harvesting While Harassed- Jabari family face military and settlers to gather their crops

3rd May 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team | Hebron, Occupied Palestine

The Jabari family owns land sandwiched in between the illegal settlements of Kiryat Arba and Givat Ha’vot. In 2001, settlers illegally took over part of the land to erect a synagogue-tent on the Jaabari-family land. All settlements are illegal under international law, unlike most settlements however, this synagogue has also been deemed illegal under Israeli law. In February 2015 an Israeli court finally ordered the demolition of the tent-synagogue. Even though the demolition was carried out in April, the debris until now still remains on the land and settlers keep on partly rebuilding under the protection of the Israeli forces.

When settlers from the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba first constructed the tent-synagogue on the Jabari family land , they also erected a path connecting Kiryat Arba with the illegal settlement of Givat Hav’ot. It took the family until 2003 to get a demolition order issued by the Israeli Civil Administration. Nothing happened afterwards until the synagogue-tent was destroyed by heavy snow in 2013, only to be rebuild again by settlers.

The demolished Synagogue-Tent on the Jabari land

Finally, on the 18th February 2015 an Israeli court issued a demolition order for the structure and the synagogue-tent was demolished early in the morning on 14th April 2014. Even though the tent was demolished, the Israeli military did not clean up the rubble, that until now is still on the family land. Since the demolition settlers have been partly rebuilding the synagogue-tent with the materials still on the land. “Price Tag” violence from the settlers, both adults and children, has rapidly increased since the demolition, with Palestinians walking past on the main road attacked by settlers, and the Jabari family has been attacked verbally and physically, with stones thrown by settlers. Israeli police and soldiers present at the sight- they watch but do not stop the settlers.

Watch this video taken by the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) on settler children attacking Palestinians and human rights observers.

The Jaabari family asked for support with harvesting their fodder crops. As all of their land is either bordering the demolished synagogue-tent or the illegal settlement of Givat Ha’vot, Youth against Settlements (YAS) arranged to help with the harvest on 1st May 2015. Together with YAS, volunteers from a range of human rights organisations, both local and international, joined the family to harvest the area directly next to the demolished synagogue tent, the area most threatened by settlers. Israeli occupation forces are prohibiting the Jabaris and all volunteers from using any kind of harvesting tools under threat of arrest. Shortly after harvesting began, settlers, police and the army arrived. At first they only watched the harvest, but after two hours the Israeli forces declared the field a closed military zone and everyone was ordered to leave.

On Saturday, another small field at the top of the Jabari’s land, close to the police station and the illegal settlement of Givat Ha’vot was harvested without interruption by settlers or Israeli forces. The majority of the Jabari family’s crops still remain to be brought in.

South Hebron Hills – farming under occupation

27th April 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Team Al Khalil | South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine

Located in the tip of the West Bank, the South Hebron Hills are dotted with farming and shepherd communities.
We are currently in the wheat harvest season and the children are spending their last few weeks at school before the holiday break.
But just like everywhere else in Palestine, the population is threatened by the Israeli occupation and the illegal settlements that overlook, menace and harm their daily lives.
“Existence is resistance”

At-Tuwani - village in the South Hebron Hills where Operation Dove is located, helping provide an international presence in the area. — At-Tuwani – village in the South Hebron Hills where an Italian organisation, Operation Dove, is located, helping provide international presence in the area.

School children amusing themselves before taking the dangerous walk home.

Israeli jeep accompanies the children on their walk to and from school. The path is squashed between a settlement and an outpost, which make the children at risk of settler attacks.

Palestinians harvesting their land. They are at constant risk of being attacked by the illegal settler outpost overlooking them.

Donkeys are a common way of getting around in the area.

Nestled in the hills, lies the community of Tuba. — Nestled in the hills, about a 40 minute walk from At-Tuwani, lies the community of Tuba.

Like many other communities in the South Hebron Hills, people live inside caves.

Inside one of the caves. Mattresses get spread around the floor in the evening to chat, share meals, watch tv and lay their heads.

TV inside the cave. Electricity is powered by their wind turbine.

The second to youngest of Tuba, posing in front of the pile of mattresses.

Communal breakfast for the sheep of Tuba.

The family’s breakfast - composed mainly of products that came from within a radius of 50 metres from their home. Bread from their wheat, eggs from their chickens, cheese and butter from their goats. — The family’s breakfast – composed mainly of products that came from within a radius of 50 metres from their home. Bread from their wheat, eggs from their chickens, cheese and butter from their goats.

Hiding away from the view of settlers and soldiers, men and women harvest their land.

Bundles of wheat collected during the harvest season.

Donkeys are used to carry up the harvested crops. — Donkeys are used to carry the harvested crops.

Siggy and Frida.