CALL TO ACTION: PSP BEGINS OLIVE HARVEST!

This month, PSP will begin it’s olive harvest in the Betlehem and Hebron regions.  We will focus on the village of Al-Jab’a who will attempt to plow land close to the settlement of Beit ‘Ain, the residents of which have terrorized the people of Al-Jab’a for years (please see previous reports from Jab’a).  This land has not been plowed for over 7 years and belongs to five families.  The last time the farmers attempted to plow this land, the settlers attacked them and set fire to their tractors.  Therefore, PSP is COLLECTING MONEY to rent two tractors to work this land.  International and Israeli activists will join with the PSP committee and the people of Jab’a to go to this land in an act of solidarity with the farmers as they reclaim what is theirs.

More details to follow soon!

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’.

Settlers Occupy More Land, Destroy Olive Groves

Today, October 21, soldiers and settlers from Susiya settlement came with army- issued bulldozers and proceeded to destroy 150 Dunums (1 Dunum=1/4 acre) of olive groves belonging to the Palestinians. The groves belong to the families of Ashmasti, Abu Sopea and Asha Bin who live in Susiya bedouin camp. The families had planned to harvest these olives at the end of Ramadan, when they would be finished fasting and have more energy to work. Because of the economic crisis throughout Palestine, and the particularly difficult situation for small farming communities in this area which is the beginning of the Negev desert, the demolition of this land will have unbelievably devastating consequences for the people of Susiya, and their ability to survive through the winter, when they will have little or no income.

Susiya settlement is not more than 40 Dunums away from the camp. It started as a trailer camp over 10 years ago and, like many settlements, they were not at first supported by Israel. A group of Israelis decided they would go there and make new houses on this land, and eventually, when they brought enough people, the army would have no choice but to support and protect them. Today, Susiya settlement consists of many permanent houses which are protected by a constant military presence. Often times, when settlers go to attack the Palestinians, they do so with the accompaniment of one of these soldiers. They are currently constructing tents outside of this settlement to watch the Palestinian families and to annex more land for this illegal settlement.

In the past, these settlers have destroyed many crops belonging to the people of Susiya. A little over 1 year ago, settlers and soldiers came to demolish an olive grove, only to plant new olive trees on this same land they had just stolen. Recently, a group of settlers from the camp made bread from poisonous water and fed it to a flock of sheep belonging to the Palestinians. They have stolen trees, fruits, vegetables and animals. They attack these families on a regular basis. The families have tried calling lawyers, police, and the Israeli army, but no action has ever been taken on their behalf. When Abu Khalil was stabbed one month ago, no one was charged with the incident. This story continues.

The olives that were destroyed today were ripe, plump and ready to be picked. Now, the crops these families were depending on are gone, and with it, any possibility of future harvests as this land is now stolen by the settlers, who will, with the support of the Israeli army, claim it as their own and prevent Palestinians from going on it. We believe they will use this as some type of farming land for themselves, as is customary when settlements use this strategy to annex more land. Once they have occupied the land, the Israeli government rarely orders them to return it, and it usually is seen as an extension of the settlement.

PSP will continue to follow this situation.

Settler Attacks Continue for Beit Ommar Farmer

September 20, 2006, in the village of Beit Ommar, activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project visited the farmland of Abu Jaber and his brother Abu Sameer. This is the third time that activists with the Project met with the farmers to document damage done to their land by nearby Israeli colonial settlers.

Three months ago, activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP) began meeting with Abu Jaber and Abu Sameer, though attacks on their land have dated back many years. These activists previously visited with the farmers July and August of this year. On September 15 2006, five days prior to PSP’s visit, Abu Jaber and Abu Sameer’s land was once again attacked by settlers from Bat Ayin. These attacks have become more frequent as the olive harvest approaches, and presently, the land is attacked nearly twice per week.

Typically, when the settlers come to the land, they cut olive, plumb and grape trees. They rip tress from the earth and throw stakes and plants into nearby bushes. Olives, plumbs and grapes are picked from the trees and stolen, while some crops are thrown to the ground to decay in the sun or to be eaten by illegally grazing settler livestock.

While at PSP’s last visit similar destruction was photographed, videotaped and documented, upon this visit, the damage had increased. More plants had been destroyed, more crops had been stolen and more of the farming infrastructure had been removed and mangled.

For several years prior to the attacks in 2006, Abu Jaber and Abu Sameer have been attempting to litigate this problem through the Palestinian Land Defense Committee, which joins Israeli and Palestinian lawyers to aid farmers in trouble. As of now, this attempt to seek justice through the Israeli court system has been fruitless. This experience is common for Palestinians seeking to have their grievances addressed through the legal system of the Occupation. The nature of the Occupation creates parallel and unequal legal systems for Palestinians and Israelis seeking to solve their problems through the court. Had Abu Jaber attacked the farm land of Bat Ayin, the Apartheid court system would have likely fined and imprisoned him, though when the situation is reversed, nothing happens and the racist nature of the Occupation courts is made apparent.

Settlers Burn Farmer’s Roof;Community Rebuilds Despite Intimidation

Israeli Colonist Wear: tallis, tzitziyot, and masks

by Harry Pockets

On 22nd July, international activists and Israeli activists joined locals from Suseya to rebuild the roof of a farmer’s home that had been burned by neighbouring Israeli colonists. Suseya, an agricultural village located in the South Hebron hills, repeatedly has come under attack by Israeli colonists in the nearby settlement of the same name.

Following the arson, the family living there temporarily moved out of fear of continued harassment and physical attacks by the colonists. Internationals gathered with the villagers to replace the burnt roof with plastic sheets in order to return the home to a liveable condition. As the group began to lay the tarp over the home, fully-masked settlers approached the group demanding that the internationals leave settler “Holy Land” (picture above). The colonists engaged in physical and verbal intimidation, characteristic of settler interactions with Palestinians and internationals in the West Bank. In the ensuing encounter the colonists, who would not identify themselves, assaulted an american woman who was videotaping the incident.

Shortly thereafter the IOF arrived, called by the settlers who frequently enlist the help of the army because of the tacit and active support they receive from them. Following a dialogue led by Israeli activists, the situation calmed. The group of villagers and internationals were able to successfully replace the roof with the tarp, clear away charred remains of the house interior, and assist in watering the farmers’ plants.

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