9 nov 2019
The Israeli army, today, forced a Palestinian farmer out of his own grove near the village of Burin, to the south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, local WAFA sources said.
The farmer, who is not yet identified, was picking olives in his own grove when Israeli soldiers, who were manning the nearby Huwwara checkpoint, broke into the grove and ordered him out.
The soldiers told him that the grove is located in a military zone and that entering it requires the prior permission of Israeli authorities.
Israel has declared more than 3,500 dunams of Palestinian agricultural land, located in the Nablus district, off limits to their owners and farmers. The only way the farmers can reach their lands is by getting a special permit from the Israeli military.
The village of Burin witnessed more than 14 attacks, so far, in this harvest season, by Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Sometimes, Israeli and international volunteers accompany farmers to these hazardous areas, during the olive harvest season, to provide them with protection from attacks, and to help the farmers in their work.
The farmer, who is not yet identified, was picking olives in his own grove when Israeli soldiers, who were manning the nearby Huwwara checkpoint, broke into the grove and ordered him out.
The soldiers told him that the grove is located in a military zone and that entering it requires the prior permission of Israeli authorities.
Israel has declared more than 3,500 dunams of Palestinian agricultural land, located in the Nablus district, off limits to their owners and farmers. The only way the farmers can reach their lands is by getting a special permit from the Israeli military.
The village of Burin witnessed more than 14 attacks, so far, in this harvest season, by Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Sometimes, Israeli and international volunteers accompany farmers to these hazardous areas, during the olive harvest season, to provide them with protection from attacks, and to help the farmers in their work.
Israeli soldiers invaded, Saturday, a Palestinian olive orchard near Huwwara military roadblock, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and forced a farmer out of his land.
Local sources said many soldiers invaded an olive orchard, before attacking the owner while he was picking his trees, and forced him out.
They added that the Palestinian has a permit from the military to enter his olive orchard, isolated by the illegal Annexation Wall and colonies, however, the soldiers forced him out.
The attack is one of the dozens of violations targeting the Palestinian and their lands by both the soldiers and illegal colonialist settlers.
These violations escalate during the olive harvest season, especially in lands that are isolated by the illegal Annexation Wall, or close to illegal colonies and outposts, which were built on stolen Palestinian lands.
They also include cutting, burning and uprooting trees, picking olive trees and stealing the produce, in addition to assaulting the Palestinians and forcing them out of their orchards.
Israel’s colonies in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Conventions, and various United Nations and Security Council Resolutions.
Local sources said many soldiers invaded an olive orchard, before attacking the owner while he was picking his trees, and forced him out.
They added that the Palestinian has a permit from the military to enter his olive orchard, isolated by the illegal Annexation Wall and colonies, however, the soldiers forced him out.
The attack is one of the dozens of violations targeting the Palestinian and their lands by both the soldiers and illegal colonialist settlers.
These violations escalate during the olive harvest season, especially in lands that are isolated by the illegal Annexation Wall, or close to illegal colonies and outposts, which were built on stolen Palestinian lands.
They also include cutting, burning and uprooting trees, picking olive trees and stealing the produce, in addition to assaulting the Palestinians and forcing them out of their orchards.
Israel’s colonies in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Conventions, and various United Nations and Security Council Resolutions.
8 nov 2019
Israeli settlers on Friday chopped off Palestinian-owned olive trees in Umm Safa village northwest of Ramallah City.
Head of Umm Safa's village council Marwan al-Sabbah said that a group of Israeli settlers destroyed six olive trees owned by the brothers Ayman and Akram Tanatra.
Al-Sabbah said that the village has been subjected to regular attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers, calling on concerned international and local organizations to support the Palestinian farmers of Umm Safa by all possible means.
He noted that the Israeli authorities have threatened to confiscate 200 dunums of the village's land to expand the illegal settlement of Halamish.
Head of Umm Safa's village council Marwan al-Sabbah said that a group of Israeli settlers destroyed six olive trees owned by the brothers Ayman and Akram Tanatra.
Al-Sabbah said that the village has been subjected to regular attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers, calling on concerned international and local organizations to support the Palestinian farmers of Umm Safa by all possible means.
He noted that the Israeli authorities have threatened to confiscate 200 dunums of the village's land to expand the illegal settlement of Halamish.
7 nov 2019
The olive harvest in Palestine is an annual reminder of Israeli settler vandalism and violence. In 2018, the Israeli NGO B’Tselem reported on the extensive damage inflicted upon the olive groves, with one Palestinian farmer explaining that, “It looked like the trees had been slaughtered.”
Meanwhile, the discrepancies regarding freedom of movement – unrestricted access for Israeli settlers juxtaposed against coordinated days for Palestinians to harvest – once again forces Palestinians into a silence which is not of their own making.
Knowing that filing complaints to the Israeli authorities yields no results, Palestinian farmers are forced to choose silence and a smaller harvest. “I only had three coordinated days left and I preferred to harvest the remaining trees,” explained one.
Israel’s military Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) would have the entire world believe otherwise. However, its latest propaganda video exposes two realities which the Israeli state has no intention of reversing: the ongoing restrictions on Palestinian movement, and settler violence as a complementary measure to the colonial state’s dispossession of the Palestinian people.
“Our purpose is to ensure that every farmer has free and secure access to his trees and can harvest his olives without any problem,” the Israeli official states. Alongside footage showing Palestinians harvesting the olives, the official adds, “As you can see, the Palestinian farmers who live here work freely. We are here with them, and that is our purpose.”
Coordinating the olive harvest is not freedom, and nor is a military presence in a work scenario. If COGAT needs to highlight its presence in the fields and emphasise “free and secure access” to the land, it underscores a plethora of violations that are not only related to the olive harvest, but also to the Israeli state depriving Palestinians of rights which, elsewhere, are taken for granted. Israel’s presence, as well as the military and the settler population, are the reason why COGAT is attempting to normalise military presence and equate it with providing Palestinians safe access to their land.
Of course, the video attempts to divert attention away from the army’s protection of settlers even as they vandalise Palestinian land and property, and destroy the farmers’ main source of livelihood, one reason why Palestinian agriculture has become militarised.
The Palestinian attachment to the land is Israel’s obstacle; settlers contribute to the colonial state’s gradual expansion and, as a result, Palestinian dispossession. Last year, settlers equated Palestinian farming with terrorism; the ultimate disfiguration of agriculture and Palestinians’ presence on their own land.
COGAT released one video lauding a collaboration which fails to explain why military presence is needed in close proximity to Palestinian farmers; there is no mention of settler violence or colonial land theft in the propaganda. Yet settlers leave their traces routinely, operating in full view and with ultimate protection from the Israeli state.
The issue is much larger than the olive harvest; it is land theft which Israel eliminates from its fake narrative. Yet in doing so, it raises the obvious question: why should Palestinians be forced to work alongside a military presence if they are indeed living freely in their own land?
Meanwhile, the discrepancies regarding freedom of movement – unrestricted access for Israeli settlers juxtaposed against coordinated days for Palestinians to harvest – once again forces Palestinians into a silence which is not of their own making.
Knowing that filing complaints to the Israeli authorities yields no results, Palestinian farmers are forced to choose silence and a smaller harvest. “I only had three coordinated days left and I preferred to harvest the remaining trees,” explained one.
Israel’s military Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) would have the entire world believe otherwise. However, its latest propaganda video exposes two realities which the Israeli state has no intention of reversing: the ongoing restrictions on Palestinian movement, and settler violence as a complementary measure to the colonial state’s dispossession of the Palestinian people.
“Our purpose is to ensure that every farmer has free and secure access to his trees and can harvest his olives without any problem,” the Israeli official states. Alongside footage showing Palestinians harvesting the olives, the official adds, “As you can see, the Palestinian farmers who live here work freely. We are here with them, and that is our purpose.”
Coordinating the olive harvest is not freedom, and nor is a military presence in a work scenario. If COGAT needs to highlight its presence in the fields and emphasise “free and secure access” to the land, it underscores a plethora of violations that are not only related to the olive harvest, but also to the Israeli state depriving Palestinians of rights which, elsewhere, are taken for granted. Israel’s presence, as well as the military and the settler population, are the reason why COGAT is attempting to normalise military presence and equate it with providing Palestinians safe access to their land.
Of course, the video attempts to divert attention away from the army’s protection of settlers even as they vandalise Palestinian land and property, and destroy the farmers’ main source of livelihood, one reason why Palestinian agriculture has become militarised.
The Palestinian attachment to the land is Israel’s obstacle; settlers contribute to the colonial state’s gradual expansion and, as a result, Palestinian dispossession. Last year, settlers equated Palestinian farming with terrorism; the ultimate disfiguration of agriculture and Palestinians’ presence on their own land.
COGAT released one video lauding a collaboration which fails to explain why military presence is needed in close proximity to Palestinian farmers; there is no mention of settler violence or colonial land theft in the propaganda. Yet settlers leave their traces routinely, operating in full view and with ultimate protection from the Israeli state.
The issue is much larger than the olive harvest; it is land theft which Israel eliminates from its fake narrative. Yet in doing so, it raises the obvious question: why should Palestinians be forced to work alongside a military presence if they are indeed living freely in their own land?
5 nov 2019
Israeli settlers on Tuesday stole olives from Palestinian farms in al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya south of the West Bank city of Nablus.
Local sources said that Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Elieh stole the harvest of about 900 olive trees in al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya.
The West Bank has been witnessing a stepped up wave of settler attacks since the beginning of the olive harvest season last month.
Local sources said that Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Elieh stole the harvest of about 900 olive trees in al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya.
The West Bank has been witnessing a stepped up wave of settler attacks since the beginning of the olive harvest season last month.
4 nov 2019
Israel seized 2522 dunums in the occupied West Bank in favor of the construction of illegal settlements, said municipal sources and a cartographer.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la told WAFA that several Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the nearby illegal settlement of Eli, and were shocked to find Israeli military orders informing them of Israel’s plan to seize their olive groves, which occupy an area of 2,000 dunams (494 acres).
Meanwhile, Israeli forces posted military orders to seize 372 dunams (92 acres) of land in the southern West Bank district of Hebron.
Palestinian cartographer Abdul-Hadi Hantash told WAFA that the so-called “commander of the Israeli military” issued a military order to seize 129 dunums (32 acres) of land belonging to Adh-Dhahiriya and As-Samou' towns, south of Hebron.
Mayor of Surif town, Mohammad Adwan, that Palestinian farmers went this morning to pick their olive groves near the encroaching Israeli settlement of Bet Ayn, but found notices to seize 243 (60 acres) dunams of their groves. The land owner was identified as the Ghneimat family.
In the meantime, the Office of Beit Liqya, a town to the southwest of Ramallah city, confirmed that Israeli forces handed them a military order to seize approximately 150 dunams (37 acres) of Palestinian land located to the south of the town and adjacent to the section of Israel’s apartheid wall.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la told WAFA that several Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the nearby illegal settlement of Eli, and were shocked to find Israeli military orders informing them of Israel’s plan to seize their olive groves, which occupy an area of 2,000 dunams (494 acres).
Meanwhile, Israeli forces posted military orders to seize 372 dunams (92 acres) of land in the southern West Bank district of Hebron.
Palestinian cartographer Abdul-Hadi Hantash told WAFA that the so-called “commander of the Israeli military” issued a military order to seize 129 dunums (32 acres) of land belonging to Adh-Dhahiriya and As-Samou' towns, south of Hebron.
Mayor of Surif town, Mohammad Adwan, that Palestinian farmers went this morning to pick their olive groves near the encroaching Israeli settlement of Bet Ayn, but found notices to seize 243 (60 acres) dunams of their groves. The land owner was identified as the Ghneimat family.
In the meantime, the Office of Beit Liqya, a town to the southwest of Ramallah city, confirmed that Israeli forces handed them a military order to seize approximately 150 dunams (37 acres) of Palestinian land located to the south of the town and adjacent to the section of Israel’s apartheid wall.
Illegal Israeli settlers today stole the olive harvest of Palestinian farmers in the village of Qaryout, south of the West Bank city of Nablus. video
Local sources said that a number of Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the encroaching nearby illegal settlement of Eli, but they were completely shocked to find out that Israeli settlers had stole their harvest and placed iron barriers to obstruct the access of Palestinian vehicles to the land.
Meanwhile, settlers flooded sewage into groves belonging to Palestinian farmers in the village of Al-Jab'a, west of Bethlehem.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la confirmed that settlers from the illegal settlement of Bat Ayin discharged their sewage on five dunams planted with olive trees in Wadi al-Khanzir area.
The owner of the olive grove was identified as the sons of Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Luha.
Every year, without fail, much of the olive harvest is characterized by attacks on Palestinian farmers and families by Israeli settlers and armed soldiers.
Over the past two weeks, the West Bank witnessed a wave of settler attacks and agricultural terrorism as Palestinian farmers began the year’s olive harvest. Attacks were mainly in northern villages near Nablus and Salfit, governorates with the largest concentration of illegal Israeli settlements.
Settlers attacked olive harvesters in Burin, a village south of Nablus, on 12 October, the same day as a 55-year-old Palestinian farmer was attacked by settlers in the nearby village of Tel. Two days prior, settlers stole olives from trees belonging to farmers also in the same area.
Armed settlers attacked farmers in the village Shufa, near the city Tulkarem in the north, who threatened to shoot farmers if they did not leave their land.’
The most devastating attack occurred on the morning of 16 October when more than 30 masked armed settlers charged at Palestinian farmers and foreign volunteers in Burin, attacking three internationals and seriously injuring one, including 80-year-old Rabbi Moshe Yehuda from the Rabbis for Human Rights organization.
With more than 12 million olive trees planted across 45% of the West Bank’s agricultural land, the olive harvest constitutes one of the biggest sources of economic sustainability for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to UN OCHA, the olive oil industry supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 families and accounts for a quarter of the gross agricultural income of the occupied territories.
But, as local NGO MIFTAH notes, “olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians. They are not just like any other trees, they are symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.”
“Because the trees are drought-resistant and grow under poor soil conditions, they represent Palestinian resistance and resilience. The fact that olive trees live and bear fruit for thousands of years is parallel to Palestinian history and continuity on the land.”
Local sources said that a number of Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the encroaching nearby illegal settlement of Eli, but they were completely shocked to find out that Israeli settlers had stole their harvest and placed iron barriers to obstruct the access of Palestinian vehicles to the land.
Meanwhile, settlers flooded sewage into groves belonging to Palestinian farmers in the village of Al-Jab'a, west of Bethlehem.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la confirmed that settlers from the illegal settlement of Bat Ayin discharged their sewage on five dunams planted with olive trees in Wadi al-Khanzir area.
The owner of the olive grove was identified as the sons of Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Luha.
Every year, without fail, much of the olive harvest is characterized by attacks on Palestinian farmers and families by Israeli settlers and armed soldiers.
Over the past two weeks, the West Bank witnessed a wave of settler attacks and agricultural terrorism as Palestinian farmers began the year’s olive harvest. Attacks were mainly in northern villages near Nablus and Salfit, governorates with the largest concentration of illegal Israeli settlements.
Settlers attacked olive harvesters in Burin, a village south of Nablus, on 12 October, the same day as a 55-year-old Palestinian farmer was attacked by settlers in the nearby village of Tel. Two days prior, settlers stole olives from trees belonging to farmers also in the same area.
Armed settlers attacked farmers in the village Shufa, near the city Tulkarem in the north, who threatened to shoot farmers if they did not leave their land.’
The most devastating attack occurred on the morning of 16 October when more than 30 masked armed settlers charged at Palestinian farmers and foreign volunteers in Burin, attacking three internationals and seriously injuring one, including 80-year-old Rabbi Moshe Yehuda from the Rabbis for Human Rights organization.
With more than 12 million olive trees planted across 45% of the West Bank’s agricultural land, the olive harvest constitutes one of the biggest sources of economic sustainability for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to UN OCHA, the olive oil industry supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 families and accounts for a quarter of the gross agricultural income of the occupied territories.
But, as local NGO MIFTAH notes, “olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians. They are not just like any other trees, they are symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.”
“Because the trees are drought-resistant and grow under poor soil conditions, they represent Palestinian resistance and resilience. The fact that olive trees live and bear fruit for thousands of years is parallel to Palestinian history and continuity on the land.”
3 nov 2019
Israeli soldiers and the so-called “Civil Administration Office, the executive branch of Tel Aviv’s occupation of Palestine, has started digging and preparing to pave a new segregated road for illegal colonialist settlers in Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
Local nonviolent activist, Mohammad Awad, said the soldiers accompanied by several bulldozers and other heavy equipment, started bulldozing and uprooting the privately-owned Palestinian lands near Beit al-Baraka, which is illegally occupied by colonialist settlers. video
Awad added that Israel is planning to pave a new road passing near Hebron-Jerusalem Road, and that the soldiers declared the area “a closed military zone,” before preventing the farmers and landowners from entering it.
The lands are at least 90 Dunams (22.23 Acres), owned by Palestinians from Safi and Sleibi families, and are planted with olive grapes and almond trees.
Abdul-Hadi Hantash, a Palestinian expert in Israeli colonialist affairs and maps, said the new road will pass through several kilometers on private, fertile lands, extending from Etzion Junction, north of Hebron, and passing near Beit al-Baraka in the opposite direction of the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, all the way through “Jabal al-Qarn” natural reserve between Beit Ummar and al-‘Arroub.
He added that the planned road would also extend to Nabi Younis Junction at the southern entrance of Halhoul town, and would eventually lead to the illegal annexation of about 400 Dunams (98.84 acres) of Palestinian lands in Beit Ummar and Halhoul towns.
Hantash stated that this new road is meant to boost Israel’s policies of segregation and annexation, to advance its plans for constructing and expanding its illegal colonies, built on occupied lands in direct violation of International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
In 2016, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a report about the Israeli plan to establish a new colony in the property of Beit al-Baraka, meaning “House of Blessing,” built 70 years earlier on a 38-dunam (9.5-acre) church compound located on the main road between Bethlehem and Hebron, opposite to Arroub refugee camp, and warned of humanitarian concerns resulting from his plan.
Beit al-Baraka also used to serve as a hospital providing free treatment to people suffering from tuberculosis until it was shut down in 1983. Jewish settlers later bought the compound from the church, through a fake company.
Local nonviolent activist, Mohammad Awad, said the soldiers accompanied by several bulldozers and other heavy equipment, started bulldozing and uprooting the privately-owned Palestinian lands near Beit al-Baraka, which is illegally occupied by colonialist settlers. video
Awad added that Israel is planning to pave a new road passing near Hebron-Jerusalem Road, and that the soldiers declared the area “a closed military zone,” before preventing the farmers and landowners from entering it.
The lands are at least 90 Dunams (22.23 Acres), owned by Palestinians from Safi and Sleibi families, and are planted with olive grapes and almond trees.
Abdul-Hadi Hantash, a Palestinian expert in Israeli colonialist affairs and maps, said the new road will pass through several kilometers on private, fertile lands, extending from Etzion Junction, north of Hebron, and passing near Beit al-Baraka in the opposite direction of the al-‘Arroub refugee camp, all the way through “Jabal al-Qarn” natural reserve between Beit Ummar and al-‘Arroub.
He added that the planned road would also extend to Nabi Younis Junction at the southern entrance of Halhoul town, and would eventually lead to the illegal annexation of about 400 Dunams (98.84 acres) of Palestinian lands in Beit Ummar and Halhoul towns.
Hantash stated that this new road is meant to boost Israel’s policies of segregation and annexation, to advance its plans for constructing and expanding its illegal colonies, built on occupied lands in direct violation of International Law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.
In 2016, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a report about the Israeli plan to establish a new colony in the property of Beit al-Baraka, meaning “House of Blessing,” built 70 years earlier on a 38-dunam (9.5-acre) church compound located on the main road between Bethlehem and Hebron, opposite to Arroub refugee camp, and warned of humanitarian concerns resulting from his plan.
Beit al-Baraka also used to serve as a hospital providing free treatment to people suffering from tuberculosis until it was shut down in 1983. Jewish settlers later bought the compound from the church, through a fake company.
In yet another violation, several illegal Israeli colonialist settlers, illegally squatting on Palestinian lands near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, invaded a Palestinian olive orchard, and harvested nearly 300 trees before stealing the produce.
Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israel’s colonialist activities in northern West Bank, said the Israeli assailants came from Rahalim nearby illegal colony, which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.
He added that the assailants harvested and stole the produce of nearly 300 Palestinian olive trees, before fleeing to their colony.
The official also stated that, once the Palestinians were able to enter their orchards, isolated behind the Annexation Wall, some colonists attacked them and forced them away, while the soldiers did not intervene.
On Saturday, the soldiers invaded Palestinian olive orchards between Burin and Huwwara towns, south of Nablus, and forced the Palestinians out, in addition to threatening them with “binging the settlers to attack them.”
It is worth mentioning that the Palestinians in Nablus governorate are not allowed to enter more than 3500 Dunams of their olive orchards, except for a few days a year, after prior coordination and approval from the military.
Even when they receive the permits, the Palestinians and are forced to wait until the soldiers open the gate for them, and sometimes the soldiers do not open it at all or force them to wait for long periods.
On Friday morning, several colonists invaded a Palestinian orchard in Yasuf village, east of the central West Bank city of Salfit, and stole a donkey, blankets and olive picking tools.
Such attacks against Palestinian lands, especially olive orchards, including those carried out by soldiers, take place in various areas across the West Bank, always escalate during the olive harvest season, and include cutting, burning and uprooting trees, picking olive trees and stealing the produce, in addition to assaulting the Palestinians and forcing them out of their orchards.
Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israel’s colonialist activities in northern West Bank, said the Israeli assailants came from Rahalim nearby illegal colony, which was built on stolen Palestinian lands.
He added that the assailants harvested and stole the produce of nearly 300 Palestinian olive trees, before fleeing to their colony.
The official also stated that, once the Palestinians were able to enter their orchards, isolated behind the Annexation Wall, some colonists attacked them and forced them away, while the soldiers did not intervene.
On Saturday, the soldiers invaded Palestinian olive orchards between Burin and Huwwara towns, south of Nablus, and forced the Palestinians out, in addition to threatening them with “binging the settlers to attack them.”
It is worth mentioning that the Palestinians in Nablus governorate are not allowed to enter more than 3500 Dunams of their olive orchards, except for a few days a year, after prior coordination and approval from the military.
Even when they receive the permits, the Palestinians and are forced to wait until the soldiers open the gate for them, and sometimes the soldiers do not open it at all or force them to wait for long periods.
On Friday morning, several colonists invaded a Palestinian orchard in Yasuf village, east of the central West Bank city of Salfit, and stole a donkey, blankets and olive picking tools.
Such attacks against Palestinian lands, especially olive orchards, including those carried out by soldiers, take place in various areas across the West Bank, always escalate during the olive harvest season, and include cutting, burning and uprooting trees, picking olive trees and stealing the produce, in addition to assaulting the Palestinians and forcing them out of their orchards.
