On Tuesday the 9th February 2010, ISM Gaza volunteers will be accompanying farmers from the village of Khuza’a near Khan Younis to their land near the border with Israel where soldiers fired at the farmers recently on several occasions.
Several farmers have been shot by Israeli forces while farming their lands.
Farmers form the villages of Faraheen and Khuza’a , near Gaza’s second biggest city of Khan Younis, reported to the ISM that routine ‘sweeps’ which Israelis carry out along the the border , disrupted the sowing of the wheat in the last few days available after the recent rainfall.
Twice a month Israeli’s enter the Gazan side of the electrified border fence to ensure that they are no explosive devices left by the Palestinian resistance in the 50 meter belt.
This is the time of increased tensions when farmers experience more incidents of intimidation and firing by the Israeli border patrols. For example, in separate incidents, Israeli border patrols fired at the farmers form villages of Faraheen and Khuza’a in the morning of the Saturday, 30th January. The farmers withdrew to the safe distance and returned to continue with the wheat sowing after the soldiers left the area.
Following the Saturday firing, the farmers from Khuza’a requested the ISM accompaniment on the next day, Sunday 31. Three ISM volunteers went with a group of six man and women to the fields 150 meters away form the border fence. Soon after, two army jeeps arrived, parked and observed the farmers for about half an hour. They where than joined by a ‘Hummer’ vehicle which farmers told us are used by the higher army ranks specialized in ‘listening’ and information gathering from a distance. All three vehicles left after a while and farmers continued with their work until it was completed.
Farmers told us that apart from fearing death or injury by shooting, they also worry about being kidnapped by the soldiers crossing to the Gazan side and that paid farm workers helping with the tractor ploughing, for example, are sometimes unwilling to take the risks.
‘We must farm our and or we will give it up bit by bit and the next generation will not have skills to work the land and will abandon it. We owe it to our children to work on our land, regardless of dangers’, said the farmer we accompanied on Sunday.
He also told us that 12 years ago he had many fruit trees and that he used to get 20 boxes of fruit form each plum tree. He also grew vegetables in the greenhouses which Israelis have since destroyed. ‘I used to sleep in the tent with my family in this very field’ he said with the nostalgia and sadness.
On Thursday 21 January ’10, tree ISM volunteers accompanied five farmers form the village of Abu Tayima in the Khouzaa area near Khan Younis, to their land near the Israeli border.
A long awaited rainfall in Gaza several days ago created good conditions for wheat sowing on this dangerous plot of land where in the past farmers were shot at by the Israeli soldiers patrolling the border.
One hour after arriving when sowing and ploughing were in full swing, two Israeli army jeeps drove alongside the border fence and stopped. From the distance we could see a number of soldiers moving between the two jeeps and soon after that they started firing at us. The farmers withdrew to the safer area while ISM volunteers remained in the field and used loudspeakers to inform the Israeli soldiers that they were dealing with the unarmed civilians working on their land who posed no threat to them.
After about 10 minutes the two jeeps drove away and another jeep arrived with warning sirens on, while the soldiers were shouting in Arabic that we should leave. The ISM volunteers repeated the explanation that Palestinian unarmed farmers were working on their land and that they would leave for their homes when their work was finished.
Shortly after the jeep left and farmers were able to return and complete their work.
One of the farmers told us that they choose to grow wheat there to minimise the risk for themselves and their families of being shot. He said that wheat did not require much looking after and that they hoped to make the same perilous journey to the same field in May to harvest their crops.
Interview with Dr. Qudeh from the “Brilliant Tomorrow For Homes Sons Society” about the destruction of East Khouzaa during the December 2008 – January 2009 Israeli onslaught on Gaza and the attempt of the Israeli occupation forces to establish a “buffer zone” by shooting live ammunition against farmers.
List of Palestinian farmers & other civilians shot in Gaza Strip’s rural communities since the declaration of the ceasefire on the 18th of January 2009
Several farmers and other Palestinian civilians have been shot by Israeli forces while in rural communities since the 18th of January 2009 when Israel declared a unilateral “ceasefire”. This list includes only confirmed cases of Palestinian civilians killed or injured by gunfire or (shrapnel of) artillery shells. It doesn’t include Palestinian civilians killed or injured by air strikes, previously unexploded Israeli ordinances, or injured while trying to escape from Israeli gunfire. It doesn’t include cases of casualties reported but not confirmed with their names [ 1, 2]
According to this list, 7 Palestinian civilians (among them 3 boys and 1 girl) have been assassinated and 28 others (among them 7 boys, 1 girl, 2 women) have been injured by IOF gunfire or shelling.
In this list we should probably add the case of Ahmed Abu Hashish who went missing on the 21st of April and his dead body was found on the 14th of June by a group formed by locals (including his father and activists of the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative) and ISM Gaza Strip activists that went under Israeli gunfire too. Ahmed Abu Hashish is believed to have been assassinated by IOF troops.
15 September 2009, Khan Younis: Fadi Odeh Abu Mu’ammar, 28
15 September 2009, Khan Younis: Muhammad Odeh Abu Mu’ammar, 26
9 September 2009, Beit Hanoun: Maysara Mohammed Hussein al-Kafarna, 24, wounded by a gunshot to the right foot.
4 September 2009, Beit Hanoun: Ghazi al-Za’anin, 14,was wounded by a bullet to the head and died the following morning.
2 September 2009, Beit Hanoun: 17-year-old ‘Abdul ‘Aziz al-Masri, was wounded by a gunshot to the right foot.
24 August 2009, Beit Lahia: Mas’oud Mohammed Tanboura, 19, was seriously wounded by several bullets to the chest
24 August 2009, Beit Lahia: Sa’id ‘Ata al-Hussumi, 16, was instantly killed by two bullets to the chest
23 August 2009, Beit Hanoun: Fawzi ‘Ali Qassem, 63, was wounded by a gunshot to the left thigh
22 August 2009, Sheikh Zayed, Beit Lahia: Murad Salman al-Wazir, 17, wounded by a gunshot to the left leg.
21 July 2009, Abassan: Majed Majdi al-Farra, 20, was wounded by shrapnel to the right hand
19 July 2009, east of Gaza city: Ahmed Zuhair al-Semari, 22, was hit by a gunshot that entered the abdomen and exited the back. Kidnapped, transferred to Israeli hospital where died.
15 July 2009, Abassan Jedida – Faraheen: Karem Hamdan Sarem Qudeh, 16, injured by shrapnel, above the eye
2 July 2009, Juhr Ad Dik: Husam Abu A’yesh, 24, was also injured by shrapnel
2 July 2009, Juhr Ad Dik: Hiam Abu A’yesh, 17, killed by Israeli shell
5 June 2009, Shoka, Rafah: Khaled Ismail Mohammed Jahjuh was shot in his lower spine
3 June 2009, Beit Hanoun: ‘Ali Mohammed al-Zummara, 65, injured by shrapnel in the back
3 June 2009, Beit Hanoun: Saleh Mohammed al-Zummara, 66, injured by a gunshot to the left hand
3 June 2009, Bedouin village ‘Um An-Nassir’: Ahmed Tawfiq Abu Hashish, 17, injured by shrapnel to the left shoulder and foot.
3 June 2009, Bedouin village ‘Um An-Nassir’: Saleh Ahmed al-Madani, 17, seriously injured by shrapnel to the neck and the left shoulder
20 May 2009, Beit Hanoun: Ziad Salem abu Hadayid, 23, was shot in his legs with live ammunition by Israeli forces.
7 May 2009, Rafah: Randa Shaloof, 32, was shot in her hand and chest with live ammunition by Israeli forces.
3 May 2009, Beit Hanoun: Mohamed Harb Shamia, 12, was injured in his leg and abducted by Israeli forces.
3 May 2009, East of Jabalya: 30-year-old Mona Selmi As-Sawarka was injured by shrapnel wounds to her chest
2 May 2009, Khoza’a: Nafith Abu T’eima, 35, injured in his neck by shrapnel from Israeli forces.
10 March 2009, al-Maghazi refugee camp: Muhannad Sehi Abu Mandil, 24, was shot in the left foot with live ammunition by Israeli forces.
24 February 2009, Khoza’a: Wafa Al Najar, 17, was shot in the kneecap with live ammuntion by Israeli forces.
18 February 2009, Al Faraheen: Mohammad al-Ibrim, 20, was shot in the right leg with live ammunition by Israeli forces.
14 February 2009, Jabaliya: Hammad Barrak Salem Silmiya, 13, was killed when Israeli forces shot him in the head with live ammunition.
27 January 2009, Al Faraheen: Anwar al Ibrim, 27, was killed when Israeli forces shot him in the neck with live ammunition.
27 January 2009, east of Deir Al Balah: Mohammed Salama al-Ma’ni, 21, was wounded by a gunshot to the left thigh.
25 January 2009, Khoza’a: Subhi Tafesh Qudaih, 55, was wounded by a gunshot to the back
23 January 2009, Khoza’a: Nabeel Ibrahim al-Najjar, 40, was wounded by shrapnel from a gunshot to the left hand by Israeli forces.
22 January 2009, Sheyjaiee: 7 year old Ahmed Hassanian shot in the head
20 January 2009, al-Qarara: Israeli soldiers shot Waleed al-Astal, 42, in his right foot.
18 January 2009, Khoza’a:Maher ‘Abdul ‘Azim Abu Rjaila, 23, was killed when Israeli forces shot him in the chest with live ammunition.
Sunday, 31 May 2009: Four international human rights workers from the ISM-Gaza Strip will be accompanying farmers from Khoza as they harvest crops next to the Green Line, for a second day.
In the morning, human rights workers will join Palestinian farmers in Khoza village, located east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, to farm land about 400 meters from the ‘Green Line’.
