Tag: Olive harvest - Page 10 - International Solidarity Movement

Settlers and army attack farmers in Qaryut, leaving five wounded

27 October 2009

At around 8am, on Tuesday 27 October, olive farmers from the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, were physically assaulted by settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Shilo. At least two Palestinian children were injured by the settlers, one sustaining an injury to his arm and the second one to his foot. When the Israeli forces arrived, they allowed the settlers to leave the scene, as the soldiers started attacking the Palestinians. One man was hit in the back of his head by a soldier’s rifle, only to find himself detained. The Palestinian farmers were ordered to stop picking and return to Qaryut.

Shortly afterwards, however, the village was raided by the army. Fearing that their fathers, husbands and sons would be arrested, the local women formed a human chain around them. The Israeli army responded to this non-violent act of resistance by showering the women with pepper-spray and hiting them with their rifles. It was at this time that Wegdan Mohammad Khalid, a 42 year old woman from Quryat was hit in the back with a rifle butt by an IDF soldier. She was taken to the emergency room at the Rafidiya Hospital in Nablus, suffering from great pains in her back. According to Red Crescent medics, at least five Palestinians were treated for injuries during the morning.

In spite of the heroic, non-violent resistance by the women of Quryat, the army managed to arrest one Palestinian and detained him at the police station in Shilo. Following the arrest, a large congregation of Palestinian men and women assembled near the settlement, demanding his release. For several hours, the villagers stood in solidarity with the detained man and were repeatedly pushed around by the Border Police, who prevented them from getting closer to Shilo.

The attack occured on one of the limited dates the District Coordination Committee (DCO) has allocated to Qaryut for picking olives. Today’s events will thereofre have a significant economic impact on the village, as they have been left with a very little time to pick the remaining olives. The DCO dates in theory allow Palestinians to pick their olives in a safe environment, as the army is obliged to protect them from violent settlers on days that have been allocated to them. It is very unlikely that a new date will be given to the village.

Tragic and pointless as this incident was, Palestinian farmers are regularly subjected to such harassment. In April of this year, 900 dunums of land were stolen from the village for the construction of roads solely for the benefit of the army and illegal settlers. While this is defended as ‘necessary for logistics’, there are already reports of the land being used for agriculture by the settlers. Qaryut is surrounded on three sides by these illegal settlements and as such finds itself in a very difficult situation.

Israeli army force international activists out of the groves during olive harvest in Kafr Qalil

21 October 2009

On Wednesday, 21 October 2009, several international activists accompanied Kafr Qalil farmers for the olive harvest in their land. The olive fields of the village of Kafr Qalil, in the Nablus region, are close to the illegal Israeli settlements of Bracha and Yizhar. During the olive harvest there is a potential threat of settlers coming to the olive fields and harassing the farmers, so the farmers feel safer with an international presence.

Today, the soldiers presented documents written in Hebrew and Arabic which they claimed to be an order stating that the area was prohibited for internationals to enter. They said that they would call the police to come and arrest the activists if they did not leave the area. They also threatened to interrupt the harvest and force the farmers to leave their land if the activists came back, and said that this had been done in other areas in the past. When the activists questioned why internationals are not allowed to accompany the farmers on their land, they were told that their presence would bother the settlers. Considering the threats, two activists left the area at 8 am, only two hours after the harvesting started. Two other activists that were higher up on the hill were not approached by the soldiers and were able to remain until the end of the day.

The olive groves are in an area declared a closed military zone, so the farmers are not allowed to access their land without a permit. Yesterday, the Israeli military called the village of Kafr Qalil and told them that they will be permitted to access their land for four days during the olive harvest. Some of the farmers need a week to pick their olives.

The restricted access to the olive fields during the rest of the year results in thistles and weeds growing all over the olive fields. Normally, farmers would keep these away in order to improve the conditions for the trees and make the olive harvest easier.

The farmers said that they were attacked by settlers during the olive harvest last year, while the Israeli soldiers that were supposed to protect the farmers just observed without intervening. In the fields, there are a number of scorched olive trees that were set on fire by settlers two years ago.

Iraq Burin: Local farmers and international volunteers plant 45 olive trees on land reclaimed from a nearby settlement

18 October 2009

On Sunday, 18 October, about 30 internationals from several different solidarity groups accompanied inhabitants of the village Iraq Burin south of Nablus to plant olive trees. 45 plants were donated by the Palestinans Authority and the action was considered successful by the local residents.

Farmers from Iraq Buring plant olive trees on reclaimed land

The olive trees were planted close to the illegal settlement Bracha, on 30 dunums (30 000m2) of land that has recently been returned to its rightful Palestinian owners as a result of an agreement with the District Coordination Office. This is the first success of its kind, and is a result of weekly demonstrations, where local protesters and international activists came together to protest illegal land annexation and settlement expansion in the West Bank.

After the olive trees were planted the protesters stayed in the field chanting pro-Palestinian slogans, celebrating the reclaimed land. A security jeep along with an army jeep arrived to the area at this point, however, as the action was already over and successfully fulfilled, the protesters decided to return to the village.

Settler attacks farmers during Qaryut olive harvest

15 October 2009

Three farmers were attacked by a settler outside the village of Qaryut Wednesday, October 15^th as they collected their olives for the yearly harvest. A struggle followed and the farmers managed to detain the settler until the military arrived. The settler was subsequently released without charge.

At around midday, while the Palestinian farmers worked their lands close to the illegal settlement of Eli, a lone Israeli settler approached the three carrying a large stick and began threatening the farmers. Though the village of Qaryut has been coordinating with the District Coordination Office the military was nowhere to be seen. The settler began arguing with the farmers, ordering them to leave their own land. The argument escalated, the settler punched one of the farmers with one of his friends leaping to his defense and a struggle occurred, the third Palestinian man managing to call the DCO to alert the military, and take photos on his mobile phone.

The men managed to subdue the settler and detain him briefly until the military arrived shortly thereafter. They ordered the farmer who came under attack to accompany them to the police station of the Bet El settlement. Upon arrival, the farmer was accused of initiating the attack and wielding the stick the settler had threatened him with. Now sustaining minor injuries and faced with the possibility of the settler pressing charges on the victim, the farmer was forced to drop the charges and find his own transportation home to Qaryut from Ramallah. The settler was released without retribution.

This is the first incident of settler violence during the olive harvest this year in the village of Qaryut, closely located to the illegal settlements of Eli and Shilo.

Tree-planting action to re-claim Iraq Burin’s land, Sunday 18 October

17 October 2009

For immediate release:

Iraq Burin has achieved the first success of its kind, in which the District Co-ordination Office has entered in to an agreement with the village to return 30 dunums of contested farmland to its rightful owners. It comes on the heels of four fiery weekly demonstrations, where local protesters and international activists came together to protest illegal land annexation and settlement expansion in the West Bank.

The land in question lies in Area C on the edge of Iraq Burin next to the illegal settlement of Mar-Barcha, just south of Nablus. Mayor Abu Haitham has stated the DCO expressed a desire to lease the land from the village but rejected the offer, in favour of the four families owning segments of the 30 dunums and wish only to recommence its cultivation.

The village was subject to a visit from the Israeli Occupation Forces on the night of Sunday, 11 October, following an attack on an unmanned military outpost in village farmland nearby the settlement. Two jeeps entered the village to raid a total of 7 houses, firing tear gas inside four and causing damage to the exterior of all. No arrests were made as the soldiers searched in vain for wanted men.

This Sunday, 18 October, a tree-planting action is planned for the village. Locals and international groups will once again join forces in an affirmation of the village’s inspiring success and begin re-claiming the returned land by the plantation of 45 olive trees. Demonstrators will meet at 8am in the village center to march to the land and begin its cultivation.