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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!

Friday, Nov. 3–PSP activists joined with Israeli peace group Ta’ayush to challenge the theft of olives and olive trees by Israeli settlers and the Israeli occupation forces. Activists planned to march to the Al-Khadr checkpoint where they would dump Palestinian olives, olive tree branches and olive oil onto Route 60, a street the Israeli government intends to make Israeli-only for settlers. Like the grape harvest demonstration less than one month ago, activists were immediately met with brutality from the Israeli army and Israeli police.

Settlers left their cars in the streets to confront the activists. During the confrontation, one settler punched a member of Ta’ayush in the face. The soldiers and police approached quickly, and without saying anything began attacking and arresting the activists. Some grabbed activists, while others beat them with guns and clubs. Demonstrators were thrown to the ground then kicked and punched and beaten again with guns and clubs. As people were being arrested, activists clung to them in efforts to de-arrest, but because there were approximately 100 soldiers and police present, they were unsuccessful. 2 members of Ta’ayush and 3 Palestinian activists were arrested and are still being held. They are all being held in Kiryat Arba, a nearby settlement, but the Palestinians have been isolated in a separate location. 2 Palestinians were taken to the hospital. Samer Abdel Kareem 32, was beaten severely, lost consciousness at the scene and does not remember the attack. He was treated for a concussion and then released. Mahmoud Mohammed Saleh 28 remains in the hospital with injuries to the lower back and spine. At this time he is unable to walk on his own.

PSP will bring you updates as they come to us.

All pictures come from the wonderful people at activestills.org

The reports from Gaza come to us late.  Along with the water, the Israeli army cuts the electric whenever they please.  When tanks invade the city, they bomb the streets, turning a once paved road into rubble and leaving it completely unusable.  The people are not free to relax in an Internet cafe write reports, search websites or send emails to friends.

Such was the case in Khan Younis Refugee Camp.  On 26/10/2006, the last day of the Eid celebration, the power was cut at 6am and the people heard the tanks and F16s approaching.  The people know now that this is the signal to flee their homes to avoid the bombs and rockets.  The tanks came this time and bombed 4 houses until they were just piles of stone and broken possessions. 

The soldiers shot 3 people dead in the street and shot many more in the arms and legs.  Adnan Hussein Brais 27, and Ali Atabash 24, were killed when an F16 fired a rocket into their car.  Shrapnel flew from the blast injuring even more people.  3 people remain in critical condition at Nasser Hospital with shrapnel wounds to the stomach and head.

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’.