Tag: Olive Harvest 2008

ISM Gaza reports from the Olive Harvest Campaign 2008 in the ‘buffer zone’

This is a compilation of reports of Olive Harvest in Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, 11th, 13th, 16th & 30th October. Video by Fida Qishta.

ISM Gaza Strip volunteers living in the Gaza Strip have been assisting farmers living in the Buffer Zone areas of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya with their olive harvest during the month of October. In 2005, Israeli Occupation forces declared a 500 meter wide area, deep into the rich agricultural land of Gaza Strip, as a “Buffer Zone”. The entire Eastern border of Gaza Strip has become a desert in the past few years, while once it fed and sustained the 1.5 million residents, most of it is now empty fields of dirt, with maybe a lone tree, reminding all that the land was once full of olive, clementines, lemon, orange, date and many other trees and crops.

The morning starts off with lots of vibrant singing of Palestinian folk songs and as the day progresses, there is less singing and more chatting back and forth between the olive harvesters. There is always a strong spirit and of course the very welcoming tradition of offering Arabic coffee and tea throughout the day. If the harvest lasts through the lunch time, food is prepared and brought to the field, plastic is spread out on the ground and everyone sits as delicious Palestinian food is served.

Presently it is still dangerous for the Palestinian farmers to go to their land, even just to stand there, the Israeli occupation force soldiers are still based at the borders and they still shoot at farmers seen in the fields. The idea of planting crops to harvest is a dream for the future to many farmers. Yet some farmers have succeeded to replant their olive trees for the third or forth time, and a few very fortunate farmers still have their older olive trees to harvest. It is these farmers the ISM Gaza Strip volunteers have been harvesting olives with, those farmers who have been steadfast in nonviolently resisting the Israeli Occupation and the Siege by continuing to farm under the imminent threat of having all their crops and irrigation systems destroyed yet again.

Some of the groves have been small, maybe half a dozen or so trees and the trees have been young, just a few years old – replanted for the third or forth time. Two groves have been large, with the lucky older trees that have somehow succeeded to survive the death blows of the Israeli bulldozers and tanks and Israeli occupation force soldiers. Three times the ISM volunteers have traveled from Gaza City to Beit Hanoun (11th, 13th, & 30th) and once to Beit Lahiya (16th October), to join the Local Initiative Group to pick the olives, a vital and locally produced food source for the Palestinian people. Olives, olive oil and olive oil soap are traditions of Palestinian livelihood that go back decades. If the Israeli soldiers are not prevented from continuing the destruction of the olive trees, this tradition could be gone forever.

Palestinian farmers and international activists pushed off land in Kufr Qeddum attempting to harvest olives

Israeli military forces evicted Palestinian farmers and over 100 international activists from olive groves near the illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim on 24th October. Farmers and accompanying activists attempted to enter the lands of Kufr Qeddum farmer, Faruq Abdl Karim Barhum, early on Friday morning, to harvest olives, but were denied entry to the lands when Israeli authorities declared the area a closed military zone.

Farmers and activists then attempted to harvest olives on nearby lands belonging to Kufr Qeddum mayor, Mohammad Abu Nimah – lands which have been occupied by Qedumim’s “hilltop youth” – a violent, right-wing faction of the settlement movement. Quickly, settlers from Qedumim flooded the area in an attempt to intimidate the farmers and activists. Spokespeople for the settlement – self-described as “The Vanguard of Jewish Resettlement in Samaria” – publicly insisted that Palestinian farmers were terrorists and terrorist sympathizers and needed Israeli military permission to gain access to their lands. Israeli soldiers then proceeded to push the farmers and activists off the land, detaining one Palestinian farmer, Mohammad Abeid; releasing him only after activists crowded around the jeep.

Faruq Barhum has been trying to harvest his olives for over one week. On Saturday 18th October, Faruq and his family were forced off their land near the illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim by Israeli soldiers, under the pretext that it was Shabbat – a holy day in Judaism – and a day when Palestinian farmers are regularly denied access to their lands. The soldiers assured Faruq and his family that they would be allowed to harvest the olives the following day.

The next day, Faruq, along with international activists and Israeli peace groups, again attempted to harvest his olives, but armed Israeli settlers from Qedumim quickly appeared, followed by Israeli police and military. Rather than protecting the Palestinian farmers, as is their duty under Israeli and international law, the Israeli authorities implemented a closed military zone, and again forced Faruq off his land, arresting one Israeli and three international activists in the process.

The pretext for this eviction was that Faruq and his family require co-ordination with the Israeli District Coordination Office (DCO) to enter their own lands. Faruq was then informed that he would not be able to access his lands until 9th November. The family was extremely upset by the prospect of not being allowed to harvest their olives until such a late date (the official start date for the olive harvest this year was 10th October) for a number of reasons; the first of which being the concern that the olives will spoil – especially if it rains. With black clouds rolling over the nothern West Bank, the potential of this outcome seems highly likely. The Barhum family are also extremely concerned that the Israeli settlers will steal their olives. Another piece of land close to Qedumim belonging to the Barhum family was recently stolen when, after Faruq plowed the land to prepare it for planting, settlers planted their own olive trees in the land, thus effectively stealing it. Indeed, the former mayor of Qedumim, Daniela Weiss, openly stated that the family’s remaining land belongs to the settlement.

The implementation of “closed military zones” is a common tactic used by Israeli occupation authorities to keep Palestinian farmers from their lands. Palestinian farmers are routinely evicted from lands which lie close to illegal Israeli settlements, a process which not only denies farmers their livelihoods, but also facilitates the annexation of further Palestinian lands by Israeli settlers. According to the Israeli human rights group B’tselem, more than fifty percent of the West Bank has been expropriated from Palestinians – mostly for settlements and future settlement expansion.

Village of Azmut attacked by settlers for second consecutive day

Village of Azmut, near Nablus

Palestinians picking olives on their land in Azmut were attacked by Israeli settlers two days in a row.

On Saturday, October 18, according to villagers a group of approximately eight settlers from the illegal Elon Moreh settlement attacked an elderly man in his field with sticks and stones, injuring him severely enough to require hospital treatment.

The settlers returned on Sunday and began yelling insults and threats to a family consisting of 3 women, 3 children and one man as the family
attempted to bring in their olive harvest. A group of journalists and internationals arrived at the olive grove very quickly after the settlers came and began taking photos. When the settlers saw the cameras, they left immediately.

Elon Moreh settlement is located about 500 meters from the field where the villagers were attacked. When the attack occurred on Saturday, according to villagers, soldiers arrived from the nearby army base, but they did nothing to stop the attack.

These two attacks followed the destruction of a Palestinian farmer’s car in the same village on Thursday October 16th. See report of this attack here.

Settlers smash Palestinian family’s car while soldiers refuse to intervene during olive harvest in Azmut

At approximately 10:40 on Thursday morning a Palestinian family from Azmut, in the northeast of Nablus, was harvesting their land near the illegal Elon Moreh settlement when a group of five settlers terrorized the family.

The settlers, wielding bats and knives, proceeded to attack the family car, smashing all windows and slashing all tyres, before retreating up the hill to the settlement.

Handala Assus, the owner of the land was picking olives nearby with his family and five small children when the attack occurred. After shouting at the settlers, demanding that they stop, he quickly ran to the nearby Israeli army base to alert soldiers of the attack. He reports telling the soldiers: ‘Here they are! Come, come to help us’, while the settlers were still in the area. ‘They said to me, go away, go away’. Assus then recalls that it took the Israeli soldiers more than twenty minutes to arrive at the scene of the attack, despite being just fifty metres away. The Israeli soldiers who did eventually attend the scene were not from the nearby base, and when questioned as to why the soldiers from the base had failed to respond one of the officers simply responded ‘I don’t know’.

The Assus family, who were unable to finish their harvesting for the day were very distraught about the damage done to their car. When questioned as to the cost of the damage Assus could only shake his head sadly saying: ‘really I don’t know, really I don’t know’. Others present on the scene estimated the damage to be in an excess of 5000 shekels.

The family, however, seemed most distraught about the lack of response from the Israeli army whose responsibility it is to protect the Palestinians from this kind of attack. Despite Israeli police eventually arriving at the scene, one army officer stated that it would be the security guard hired by illegal Elon Moreh settlement would carry out the investigation.

This is the most recent in a spate of attacks on Palestinians during the annual olive harvest. On Wednesday two cars were similarly damaged by settlers in Turmus’ayya; while on Thursday olive groves were burnt by settlers in Kufr Qaddum; and settlers from Yitzhar stoned farmers harvesting their olives in Burin.

Israeli forces attack Ni’lin olive harvest

On Friday morning 10th October, residents of Ni’lin village went out to harvest olives on their land, supported by about 100 Israelis and international activists, and also accompanied by media crews.


Video by Israel Putermam


Photos courtesy of Activestills

The proposed route of the wall cuts deeply into this land, and will cut villagers off from a whole valley full of olive trees belonging to the village of Ni’lin. Ten people were injured, two of them children, as the Israeli army violently tried to prevent the activists and farmers from reaching their land. Two Palestinian ambulances were also shot at with tear gas.

As people approached the planned route of the wall, soldiers appeared firing sound bombs and tear gas without warning, to prevent anyone from getting to the olive trees beyond this point. Sound bombs and tear gas were thrown very close to people who were standing peacefully and sitting down. Tear gas was then fired from a gun aimed directly at activists who had gone up to the front of the group, and also at farmers who had begun their harvest in an area further away. Three Israelis protesting peacefully were forcibly dragged away and detained. One Palestinian man, Omar Salfi, was injured when the tear gas caused him to fall out of a tree.

The the farmers and activists were pushed back, but after Israeli activists had negotiated for some time with the army, they were allowed access to the olive trees between the planned route of the wall and the Israeli settlement on the top of the next hill.

The village of Ni’lin has been badly affected by the attempt to construct part of the wall there, which would cut off many local farmers from their land if built. Peaceful demonstrations against the construction of the wall by residents and activists take place in Ni’lin regularly.