From the Trees to the Bottle: Olive Oil Production Under Occupation

Today, Nov. 1, PSP went to the village of Surif to visit their olive oil production factory. We intended to write a report about the olive oil process from the tree to the bottle. Instead, we found ourselves writing a report on the devestating impact of settlements on the economic survival of Palestinian farmers and business owners.

Factory owner, Mohammed Barathea, says that business in Surif used to be very busy, but now with the constant presence of soldiers and the completion of the Apartheid Wall which resulted in the annexation of more land after land had already been confisgated for settlement expansion, business is slow. Many Palestinian farmers have been cut off from their agricultural land by the Apartheid Wall throughout the West Bank. In Surif, those Palestinian farmers who do still have access to their land are not immune to the hardships of occupation. Many have had their olive trees cut or set on fire by Israeli settlers. Settlers have also brought their sheep to eat these crops, making harvests negligible. Palestinians are frequently met by military hummers and jeeps as they go to work these fields and are forced to return home, leaving their crops unattended. Soldiers have told them they cannot return to the fields without permission from the District Coordinating Office (DCO). However, the DCO will not grant them permission to harvest on their own land.

The DCO coordinates between the Israeli army and Palestinian farmers. Palestinians must apply for permission to work their land, and the DCO will either deny them or assign a few days of “legal” harvesting. The DCO overlooks the fact that olive trees need year-round care. The land needs to be tilled, and the branches need to be pruned, so that when harvest season comes the trees are fruitful. Without continuing care, the families will have little benefit from the harvest. The DCO does not grant permission for off-season care. They grant only a few days of their choosing, and even with this permission the army may still deny them the access to their lands and if they do access their land, they still face violence from settlers.

In Surif, the Wall has stolen 90 dunums of land. The families of Khalil Mohammed Baradaya, Sleman Abed Al-Hadi Baradaya, Ibraheim Abed Arackman Al-Hiya and Abed Al-Khadr Al-hiya are now without land and without work. A short time ago, these families went around the Wall to their land only to find that it had been destroyed by settlers and sheep. When they returned to repair the damage they were met by soldiers who told them to go home immediately, that ‘this is Israeli land now’.

PSP Destroys Illegal Barriers in Al-Khalil Region

 

On September 15, 2006, Palestinian and international activists, at request of local residents, removed and destroyed large sections of a razor wire barrier erected on Palestinian land in the Hebron region.  The fence, which is designed to isolate and bisect a village, was repeatedly cut, metal stakes removed, and the razor wire ripped to be rendered unusable. The activists worked in teams, sabotaging the fence in many strategic areas. By the end of the action, the activists had destroyed large tracts of the barrier, and created more than six entry and exit points in the fence, allowing the residents of this village to move more freely. Each entry/exit point created spanned more than seven meters. Having accomplished their goal of opening the crossings, the activists returned safely without being observed by IOF soldiers.

On September 17, 2006, for the third time in approximately two weeks, Palestinian and international activists carried out a successful direct action to remove illegal fence and razor wire barriers in the Hebron region. The activists were able to open at least six entry and exit points in this barrier. The sections of the barrier targeted were very near to an Israeli Army checkpoint which is often closed and severly limits the ability of the Palestinians in the area to travel between villages and to the city of Hebron.  The activists again succeeded in cutting this other fence and leaving before the IOF spotted them.

The route of the fence (soon to be Wall) has isolated some families by placing them on the ‘Israeli’ side of the barrier, seprating them from their villages.  Many farmers in the villages have similarly had their land annexed; the barrier making their land inaccessible. Now, by destroying the fence in several locations, PSP was able to create access points for farmers and other travelers to enter and exit the area, accessing their land during this harvest season.  This action was also designed to slow the progress of the construction of the Apartheid Wall which is has begun in many places in the south Betlehem and Hebron regions.

PSP is a newly developed, Palestinian-led, non-violent movement to resist the Israeli occupation which focuses on the specific conditions of the South.

For more information on the Palestine Solidarity Project, please contact palestine_project@yahoo.com