Tag: Nablus

For the second time in one week, Palestinian firefighters were called to put out a fire in Burin, a village south of Nablus. According to eyewitnesses, at approximately 3pm, on Thursday 6th November, Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Bracha, burnt Palestinian farmers’ olive trees and agricultural irrigation systems.

The attack took place in lands near to the notorious Huwarra checkpoint, highly visible to all those at the checkpoint. One resident of Burin commented “My friend called me from the checkpoint saying ‘come and see the settlers burning the lands'”. The fire was lit directly adjacent to the lands which were burnt exactly one week before – an attack in which settler youth, witnessed milling about the area during the blaze, were the only suspects.

A number of dounums of land were torched, including olive groves, orchards, and grasslands.

Burin has faced many arson attacks this olive season by settlers from the Bracha and Yizhar settlements. Ali Eid, the mayor of Burin estimates that over fifty percent of the village’s olive groves have been burnt by the settlers, greatly diminishing the yield of this year’s harvest. Other attacks on Burin farmers during this harvest include settlers throwing stones at farmers, with one requiring hospitalization; shooting into the air; as well as burning farmers’ equipment. In other areas, settlers have severely beaten farmers; smashed cars; and stolen olives before farmers can harvest.

These attacks have been increasing throughout the West Bank since the launch of the “Price Tag” or “Mutual Responsibility” settler campaign, designed to prevent any settlement eviction anywhere in the West Bank by wreaking havoc in areas surrounding every settlement. The main targets of this campaign are Palestinian farmers whose lands lie near to the illegal settlements, with the burning of Palestinian lands being advocated as a prime tactic.

This increase in the number of attacks and levels of intimidation taking place has led to some farmers in neighbouring villages feeling unable to harvest their olives at all, for fear of attack – even with the offer of accompaniment by international and Israeli activists. These attacks are enabled by an apartheid policing system that not only ignores Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and their lands; but also many times facilitates them through direct collusion between Israeli soldiers and settlers.

Many acres of land were burnt in the village of Burin on Thursday 30th October, in what appeared to be an arson attack by settlers from nearby Bracha settlement.

The attack came at approximately 2pm, when Palestinian farmers and international activists were harvesting olives nearby. The fire quickly spread along the edge of the road that leads to Bracha settlement – an Israeli-only road. Burin fire-fighters were quick to respond to the fire, but were held up when they were unable to enter the Israeli-only road without permission from Israeli authorities. Upon reaching the scene, firefighters were able to contain the blaze after approximately fifteen minutes, with assistance from farmers. Approximately 20 olive trees were damaged in the blaze, with many more trees saved only by the fact that the land was damp due recent rains.

Farmers suspect the arson was a direct response to their presence on their lands, with some suggesting it might have been an attempted scare-tactic. Several settler youth were visible on the scene as the fire was quenched, but denied any role in the blaze. Instead, Israeli authorities advised farmers that the youths had claimed it was the international activists who were assisting with the olive harvest who had started the fire. Clearly, these allegations were implausible even for Israeli authorities, who were seen afterwards questioning only the settler youth.

The lands around the illegal settlement of Bracha are scarred with black – testament to the countless fires previously torched. This tactic has been employed by settlers not just to deprive Palestinian farmers of their olives, almonds and other fruits – thus injuring them economically; but also to scare farmers from their lands, attempting to break the generational connections with the land, thus rendering the land easier to annex. For this reason many Palestinian farmers in Burin consider it vital to undertake the olive harvest each year; not just to collect whatever olives have not been burnt or stolen by settlers, but to also affirm their ownership of the lands.

This fire is but the most recent in attacks on the village of Burin from both Bracha and Yitzhar settlements. Ali Eid, the mayor of Burin, estimates that at least fifty percent of Burin’s olive trees have been burnt by rancourous settlers, with arson attacks occuring at least once a month.

On Friday 24 October settlers from the illegal outpost of Yitzhar erected 3 fence posts in what local Palestinian villagers suspect is an expansion of the settlement.

In direct contradiction with Israeli and international law, settlers appear to be expanding the illegal outpost bringing the barrier of the settlement within 200 metres of Palestinian homes in the village of Asira al Qibliya. Settlers continued work on the fencing the next day. Despite public declarations and obligations under the Annapolis negotiations, illegal settlements continue to expand in this manner with little or no action by the Israeli authorities.

Asira al Qibliya has been the victim of numerous terrorist attacks from the illegal outpost residents . Settlers attacked the village shooting and damaging property in early September in what the then Israeli Prime Minister described as a ‘pogrom’. However, to date no settlers have been arrested for the attacks and the Israeli army continues to regularly harrass and invade the Palestinian village and its residents.

On the morning of October 25th, two Palestinian farmers from Burin arrived in their fields to harvest olives only to discover their farming equipment and one olive tree burnt by settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Bracha.

A total of 10 buckets, 7 tarps, 3 ladders, and one olive tree were burnt by 9 settlers – 3 women and 6 males. The settlers were still present and 4 were armed as Palestinian farmers boldly continued their work, first alone, then accompanied by international activists. The Israeli settlers kept a presence on a nearby hilltop overlooking the farmers throughout the day. Palestinian farmers have been subject to intimidation, property damage and physical attacks during the annual olive harvest season when trying to harvest their crops.

Burin, a village just outside of Nablus, is sandwiched between the illegal Israeli settlements of Bracha and Yitzhar and has suffered numerous terrorist attacks from the nearby residents of the settlements. Activists also witnessed the presence of a further tent construction, expanding the scope of the settlement further, illegal under both Israeli and International law.

On Monday 20 October farmers in Azmut were subject to a fourth day running of intimidation and intrusion onto their land as they harvested their olives near the illegal settlement of Elon Moreh.

At 15:00 international activists and farmers from the village of Azmut to the east of Nablus city witnessed 3 settlers patrol in their olive groves just 100 metres north of where they were harvesting their olive trees.

This is the fourth consecutive day settlers from the illegal settlement of Elon Moreh have attacked and intimidated residents of the village of Azmut. In a campaign of terror settlers have so far forced farmers from their land, damaged a vehicle and violently attacked a elderly farmer and his family.

Palestinian Presidant Mahmoud Abbas has already stated this year’s olive harvest as a ‘dangerous escalation’ in violence from settlers that has seen 429 incidents in the first half of 2008, against 551 in all of 2007. The harvest in the Nablus region has already seen attacks in the villages of Burin, Deir Hatab, Tell, Huwwara, Kafr Qallil and Awarta. As the occupying force the Israeli army are obliged to provide protection to Palestinians, however in reality the army are at best slow to respond to reported attacks and, as seen in Asira al Qibliya recently, complicit and active in supporting terror attacks from settlers against Palestinians.