- 20 aug 2010
Civil defense control village fire
SALFIT (Ma'an) – Civil Defense Forces controlled a fire which destroyed 11 square kilometers of land north of Qira village near Salfit, a statement from the crews said.
The fire was caused by villagers burning garbage, and spread quickly due to the heat wave, firefighters said.
Almond trees, and more than 50 olive trees were burnt.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=309438 14 jan 2012, 13:40 , Respect -
Agha denounces annual Zionist "massacre" of harvesting season
GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Ramadan Al-Agha warned Monday that this year’s olive season will be lost in light of ongoing crimes by Israeli settlers against Palestinian farmers in the West Bank.
Agha, in a press release, condemned what he called the annual olive season massacre, in which settlers under Israeli military protection throughout the olive harvesting season vandalize, destroy and burn olive trees and steal crops year after year.
“The Zionist audacity has gone to the extent that settlers in Nablus and Qalqiliya villages harvest and steal olives in broad daylight,” Agha said.
The minister urged human rights and international groups to shed light on the daily violations of those settlers and Israeli occupation forces of Palestinian villages and villagers
http://bit.ly/cDPxxT 14 jan 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
Israeli settlers raid WB olive farms
Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian olive groves in the West Bank cities of Nablus and Qalqilya, looting part of the farmers' harvest.
A Palestinian official in charge of the Israeli settlement file in northern West Bank said tens of Israelis from the nearby Yitzhar settlement clashed with Palestinian farmers on Tuesday, Qods news agency reported.
According to Ghassan Daghlas, the assailants then engaged in uprooting and breaking Palestinian olive trees and stole part of their crops.
Daghlas emphasized that in addition to attacks by settlers, Israeli army forces have also launched a campaign recently to destroy Palestinian gardens and olive stands in the West Bank.
The move inflicts further blows on the wrecked economy of the West Bank where the livelihood of most Palestinian families depends on agriculture and their olive groves, in particular.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143509.html 14 jan 2012, 13:41 , Respect -
PA to support olive oil farmers
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Agriculture will not fix olive oil prices ahead of the 2010 harvest season, the minister said, announcing a new mechanism of support for farmers.
Minister Isma’il D’eiq told Ma’an on Saturday that rather than fix prices, the ministry would offer loans to organizations with tenders to purchase the oil for less than 20 shekels ($5.41) per kilo.
With the average cost to farmers to produce one kilogram of oil calculated at 13 shekels ($3.52), D’eiq said the ministry set a fair price guideline of 20 shekels, but did not set the price as a cap.
Market rates are expected to drive up the price of olive oil to 25 shekels ($6.77) per kilo, the minister said, quoting a forecast by the Palestinian Olive Oil Council.
On Thursday, D’eiq promised that the ministry would monitor olive presses day and night during the pressing season, and inspectors would carry out quality tests to make sure each press has met health and safety guidelines.
A statement issued by the ministry earlier suggested that a 20-shekel price would be set on the oil, and promised to purchase olive oil from farmers if there was a surplus as expected.
Earlier in the week, head of the olive oil council Nabih Ath-Thib told farmers that the minimum price was to be set at 25 shekels by the ministry.
After a winter of expected heavy rains the olive harvest was predicted to be healthy for 2010, despite concerns that a record-heat summer may have withered some of the fruit.
In 2009, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said 19,860 tons of olives were pressed, extracting 4,771 tons of olive oil. The harvest was a bad compared to the year before, when 17,584 tons of oil was extracted from 76,388 tons of olives.
The 2009 harvest came in 5,000 tons short of what Ath-Thib said at the time was an estimated 15,000 necessary for private and commercial use in Palestine.
Revenues were also low, with sales reaching $3 million in 2009, compared to $7.8 million in 2008.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=317874 14 jan 2012, 13:43 , Respect -
Settlers expand settlement, burn, bulldoze fields
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Settlers began bulldozing Palestinian farmland to build a new settlement in the northern West Bank on Friday, a Palestinian Authority official said.
Ghassan Doughlas, who holds the settlements file in the area, said a number of bulldozers were working in the area west of Urif village south of Nablus, which borders the illegal Yitzhar settlement.
Days earlier, Doughlas said, settlers expanded the settlement from the north, carrying out digging work north of Yitzar on Madama village land.
Doughlas called on the Middle East Quartet to act against the confiscation of Palestinian land, and said settlers were trying to derail the fragile peace process, relaunched in Washington on 2 September.
The Quartet - representing the US, EU, UN and Russia - has issued statements condemning all settlement activity.
The building comes as officials from around the world ask Israel to extend a settlement construction moratorium which saw building in the West Bank stemmed for a period of ten months. Without a continued freeze, Palestinian negotiators have said they can no longer participate in peace talks.
Near Awarta village, also in the northern West Bank, settlers from the Itamar colony set fire to fields belonging to Palestinians, a security official said.
One resident, Nu’man Shafiq Awwad, 40, told Ma'an that "I saw him with my own eyes, he was in a green military jeep. I saw him get down of the jeep and set fire in the olive trees in Al-Bayada area near the Itamar settlement."
Qais Awwad, the vice president of the Awarta village council, said the fire had spread to several trees in the grove, and that locals had to douse the flames on their own, as Civil Defense crews were delayed in arriving due to military restrictions.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=319864 14 jan 2012, 13:45 , Respect -
Settlers damage trees after harvesting olives, locals say
NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli settlers damaged 16 olives trees belonging to residents in the Nablus region on Wednesday after harvesting the olives and depriving several families of their income source, the village council chief said.
Rashed Mazar, Yanun village chief, told Ma'an that residents saw settlers from the Gideonim outpost in the Itamar settlement leave nearby agricultural lands in a jeep, towing a wagon filled with olive leaves behind it.
He added that settlers living on the illegal outpost began bulldozing land to make way for a road leading to the homes there. He said the road would eat up several dunums of farm land, and make accessing the lands left difficult, since the land would basically be appropriated by the settlers and the outpost would be entrenched.
North of Yanun, head of the Palestinian Authority northern settlement activity file Ghassan Doughlas said settlers from the Yitzhar settlement uprooted nearly 50 trees in the Anukara area of the Huwwara village south of Nablus, owned by Najeh Issa Muhammad Odeh.
Doughlas called on the international community to pressure Israel into halting settler assaults against Palestinian crops, particularly during the olive harvesting season.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=321458 14 jan 2012, 13:47 , Respect -
Low yield expected for 2010 olive harvest
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Ministry of Agriculture in Ramallah said a 30 percent drop in olive oil production was expected for the 2010 season over the 2008 yield.
Experts said 2010 was a naturally occurring low season between a cycle of two seasons of high yields, which combined with a record hot summer of hot dusty winds and concentrated rainfall in February and March, caused olives to mature early but without proper fertilization.
The decline was also attributed to an increased number of inaccessible olive trees, 4.3 percent of which remain isolated behind the Israeli separation wall. Other fields are expected to remain inaccessible due to settler violence.
An aging olive tree population was also cited by ministry experts, saying more than 65 percent of trees were more than 100 years old, with new growth difficult amid Israeli restrictions.
The inability to tend crops near settlements or on the far side of the wall lead to many infections, caused by insects and diseases, the ministry said.
8,483 tons of oil to be exported
Of the olives harvested during the season, 20 percent will be pickled and bottled, while the remaining fruit will be pressed into oil, producing an estimated 23,802 tons of olive oil, the ministry said.
Despite a dip in the reserves - down to 700 tons according to ministry experts - almost 8,500 tons of oil was expected to be sent for export to foreign markets.
Local oil consumption remains high, at 2.8 to 3.8 kilograms of oil per person.
Ministry to support increased productivity
A series of trainings and workshops will be held by ministry officials and experts over the course of the year to ensure maximum yield from available trees, a statement said, in addition to technical support for farmers with trees behind the wall.
Accessing trees on confiscated or illegally annexed lands, the statement said, would increase productivity from 25 to 35 percent alone, while programs to diagnose and treat ailing trees could increase productivity per dunum from 20 kg to 30 kg.
Fine-tuning water-harvest techniques could raise productivity to 10 kg to 15 kg per dunum, experts said, but added that all efforts would not likely result in a higher yield for 2010.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=321498 14 jan 2012, 13:49 , Respect -
West Bank protests mark olive harvest
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained two Palestinian teenagers picking olives near Hebron on Friday as weekly anti-wall protests across the West Bank marked the start of the olive harvesting season.
Witnesses said Jehad Jamal Al-Amla, 17, and Iyad Jamil Al-'Amla, 18, were detained while picking olives in Beit Ula west of Hebron. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she would look into the report.
Reports of live ammunition in An-Nabi Salih
In a weekly anti-wall demonstration in An-Nabi Salih, west of Ramallah, locals said one man was hospitalized after being hit in the chest by a live bullet. He was taken to Yasser Arafat hospital in Salfit, where medics said his condition was serious.
Six others were injured by live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers during the anti-wall demonstration, the local committee said.
Protesters marched to the village entrance after noon prayers, and the committee said forces were already stationed there. Protesters reported that soldiers became irate when village children threw paint at them, and launched tear gas grenades in response.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said around 70 protesters gathered in the village, and forces used riot dispersal means in response to rocks hurled at soldiers. She said forces did not use live ammunition against demonstrators at any protests on Friday.
Two journalists injured in Bil'in
Meanwhile, two journalists were injured at a weekly rally in Bil'in, the local popular committee said, reporting that Abas Al-Momani was hit in the back by a tear gas canister, while Haron Amaira suffered from extreme tear gas inhalation.
Protesters headed to the wall after noon prayers, carrying a banner reading "We will stay here like the roots of the olive trees." Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets at villagers and their supporters as they attempted to cross a gate in the separation wall to collect their olives, a committee statement said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said riot dispersal means were used against 30 protesters in the Ramallah village.
PNI leader attends Ni'lin rally
A simultaneous protest in Ni'lin, also in the Ramallah district, was attended by Palestinian National Initiative leader Mustafa Barghouthi.
Barghouthi said he attended the rally to help farmers pick their olives, and to show them they were not alone.
Nil'in's popular committee said five were injured when Israeli forces launched tear gas canisters and rubber coated bullets at villagers and activists who were attempting to harvest olives close to the separation wall.
An army spokeswoman said forces used tear gas and rubber bullets in response to rocks thrown by demonstrators, who she said numbered around 60.
Bethlehem village protests mosque arson
Hundreds of villagers joined prayers at Al-Anbiya Mosque in Beit Fajjar, which was subject to an arson attack on Tuesday. Israeli media said Israeli police suspected the attack was a "price tag" operation by nearby settlers wishing to protest Israel's West Bank policies.
After noon prayers, residents headed to the village entrance to protest the arson and settler violence towards Palestinians. Israeli forces were already deployed at the entrance, and launched tear gas and sound grenades at the rally, locals said, adding that four protesters were injured.
A military statement said forces used riot dispersal mechanisms against around 100 protesters in response to violence.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=322176 14 jan 2012, 13:50 , Respect -
PA official: Settlers attack farmers in north
NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while they were harvesting olives in the northern West Bank village of Burin south of Nablus Saturday morning, a Palestinian official told Ma’an.
Ghassan Doughlas, who holds the settlements portfolio for the northern West Bank, said 15 settlers wearing white uniforms threw stones at farmers harvesting olives and at the home of local resident Bashir Hamza.
Doughlas said the settlers arrived from an illegal settlement outpost near Bracha settlement, and that they damaged several olive trees before Palestinian residents intervened forcing them to leave. No injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=322234
Fayyad picks olives in Tulkarem
TULKAREM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad marked the start of the olive harvest on Saturday with farmers in the Tulkarem district.
Fayyad was joined in Deir Al Ghusun by Tulkarem governor Talal Dweikat, PA Agriculture Minister Ismail Daiq, and farmers and residents of Al Karak, a village close to the separation wall.
The Ramallah-based prime minister said the officials were there to show support to farmers, and had chosen a village close to the separation wall "to deliver a message to the occupier that we will stay steadfast on our land and we have the right to be here."
"The olive tree is very symbolic, particularly as it embodies the strong bond between man and land. It is the main source of livelihood for residents," Fayyad said, noting that the trees were targets for settlers, who frequently burnt, uprooted and destroyed them.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=322461 14 jan 2012, 13:59 , Respect -
In photos: Palestinian PMs harvest olives
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Gaza visits an olive press on 9 October 2010, the start of the annual harvest. Near Nablus, meanwhile, Ramallah-based premier Salam Fayyad harvests olives in the Iraq Burin village. For Palestinians, olives are an important agricultural product, and olive trees symbolize attachment to their land.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=322523 14 jan 2012, 14:06 , Respect -
Israeli groups call on security forces to protect Palestinians
TEL AVIV (Ma'an) -- The Israeli rights group Yesh Din on Monday called on Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians during the olive harvest season.
The group sent a letter to high-ranking officials to remind them of Israel's obligation under international law to protect residents of territory which it occupies, a statement said.
The letter was sent to to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, General Avi Mizrahi, police chief Hagi Dotan and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and asked them to inform security forces to allow Palestinians to harvest their olives without impediments.
"For Palestinians, this is a significant time, in which they should be given the opportunity to reach their lands and harvest their property. This activity, which is their basic right, is often disturbed by extremists among the settlers, who take the law to their hands and carry out crimes," the letter said.
Yesh Din is one of several Israeli groups in an Olive Harvest Coalition. Rabbis for Human Rights, another group in the coalition, reported that the olives from 600 trees belonging to Palestinian families had been stolen. The families were from villages around the illegal settlement outpost Havat Gilad in the Nablus district, it said.
Rashed Mazar, chief of Yanun village in Nablus, said Thursday that residents saw settlers from the Gideonim outpost in the Itamar settlement leave nearby agricultural lands in a jeep, towing a wagon filled with olive leaves behind it. The theft deprived several families of their income source.
He added that settlers living on the illegal outpost began bulldozing land to make way for a road leading to the homes there. He said the road would eat up several dunums of farm land, and make accessing the lands left difficult, since the land would basically be appropriated by the settlers and the outpost would be entrenched.
North of Yanun, head of the Palestinian Authority northern settlement activity file Ghassan Doughlas said settlers from the Yitzhar settlement uprooted nearly 50 trees in the Anukara area of the Huwwara village south of Nablus, owned by Najeh Issa Muhammad Odeh.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=322860 14 jan 2012, 14:10 , Respect -
Residents petition high court to access olive groves
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Residents of the Wadi Ar-Rasha village filed a petition Tuesday with the Israeli High Court of Justice to secure access to their land during the olive harvest, an Israeli rights group said.
Residents of the village, in the northern Qalqiliya district, had applied for 98 requests to access their olive groves which fall behind Israel's separation wall, but all requests were denied by Israel's Civil Administration, Yesh Din wrote.
With the rights group's assistance, residents hope to secure an injunction that will allow them to reach their groves "in order to protect the yearly livelihood of the villagers," the statement read.
The village is one of five Palestinian villages near the illegal settlement of Alfe Menashe. After the separation wall was erected around the settlement, the village became an enclave. The HCJ ruled that the village should no longer be an enclave surrounded by barriers the statement said but noted that the village's agricultural fields and groves, measuring up to 500 dunams, remained inside the closed-off area.
The petition, filed by attorneys Michael Sfard and Avisar Lev of the Yesh Din legal team, said that Israeli authorities' refusal to grant access to the villagers is "pointless and unjustified", and undermines their right to property and livelihood. The petitioners note that by refusing to the villagers' requests, the authorities have violated their legal commitments, the statement read.
"This case shows that the authorities not only fail to protect the Palestinians from right-wing Jewish extremists, but also prevent them from exercising their legal right to harvest their olives", said Sfard.
"The olive harvest season is underway. The court must intervene urgently, so as to protect the livelihood of the residents of Wadi A-Rasha", added Lev.
On Monday, Yesh Din called on Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians during the olive harvest season, sending a letter to high-ranking officials to remind them of Israel's obligation under international law to protect residents of territories which it occupies.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323398 14 jan 2012, 14:12 , Respect -
Palestinian diaspora join in olive harvest
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Palestinian peace activists from Europe, South Africa and Canada, as well as several foreign nationals, participated in the olive harvest with residents of the Al-Bathan village in the Nablus district on Tuesday.
Sana Ad-Dabagh, one of the participants, said she hoped that by joining the harvest she would reveal the reality of daily life in Palestine, and that her group had toured several Palestinian cities and villages in the West Bank and Israel in solidarity.
Atheer Salahat from Al-Bathan greeted the peace activists and thanked them for their visit to the village which faces daily harassment from settlers and Israeli forces, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323635 14 jan 2012, 14:13 , Respect -
In photos: Settlers disrupt Burin olive harvest
Israeli residents living on the illegal West Bank settlement of Yitzhar in the northern West Bank district of Nablus have been disrupting the olive harvest in the nearby Burin village since the season began in early October.
Nameer At-Tirawi, 28, said more than 50 settlers descended upon the village and began throwing stones at residents, adding that there were clashes between them until Israeli forces arrived at the scene. On his five dunums of land near the settlement, At-Tirawi said more than 40 trees were cut down by settlers during last year's harvest.
One farmer said two bags of harvested olives had been stolen by settlers, who also tried to steal a horse from another Palestinian farmer.
Palestinian Authority official charged with the northern settlement file Ghassan Doughlas said settlers have stolen harvested olives from Yanun, Burin and Orta villages, and uprooted or cut down several trees.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323640 14 jan 2012, 14:19 , Respect -
60 police officers help with olive harvest
TULKAREM (Ma'an) -- Sixty police officers in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem helped villagers harvest olives on Thursday.
Police chief in the region Thyab Al-Ali sent the officers to help, and said residents were grateful for the support.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=324167