- 17 aug 2011
IOF launches arrest sweep, burns down farmland in Jenin vicinity
JENIN, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces launched wide-ranging arrest sweeps around the West Bank city of Jenin, and burned dozens of dunams of farmland west of the city.
Witnesses said several patrols raided Kafr Rai village south of Jenin and deployed throughout the streets. The home of 16-year-old Bilal Nabil Jawabira, 16, was searched in the operation.
The sources added the soldiers set up ambushes in the local cemetery, in the olive groves, and on the rooftops of nearby homes.
IOF troops raided several other villages in the area with patrols that went on until early morning without report of arrest.
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers set fire to dozens of dunums (1 Dunum= 1000 square meters) of olive groves and almond fields causing heavy damage in the village of East Barta’a in the southern region of Jenin governorate.
Locals said troops posted at the Barta’a checkpoint stopped fire vehicles from Jenin’s civil defense service from arriving to fight the blaze.
They said Israel forces had been burning grass piled on the sides of the roads where they were patrolling, when fire spread to nearby olive groves.
Meantime, locals reported that a gang of Jewish settlers burned down tens of dunams of farmland in the dismantled Jewish settlement of Homesh and directed verbal insults at Arabs and tried to assault the vehicles of Palestinians who drove along the road between Jenin and Nablus.
Witnesses said the settlers set fire to hundreds of olive and almond trees as Israeli military forces remained idle. IOF troops arrived to the region for the protection of the settlers, they said.
http://fwd4.me/09H5
14 jan 2012, 19:33 , Respect -
Maria 21 aug 2011
Settlers raid Nablus village
NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers on Sunday stormed a Palestinian village near Nablus and uprooted 80 olive trees, a Palestinian Authority official said.
Settlement affairs official Ghassan Doughlas said dozens of residents of the illegal Esh Kodesh outpost raided Qusra and destroyed trees belonging to locals Rabi Abu Bakr, Samir Hasan and Jabali Abu Reida.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=414956 14 jan 2012, 19:35 , Respect -
Maria 24 aug 2011
Jewish settlers cut off Palestinian olive trees
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Jewish settlers cut off olive and fruit trees in the cultivated land lots of Beit Ummar village north of Al-Khalil province on Wednesday, a local source reported.
Mohammed Awad, the spokesman for the popular committee against the wall and settlement, said that the settlers came from Beit Ayin settlement and destroyed 55 trees owned by a family in the village.
He explained that the attack left 50 fruit trees and 5 very old olive trees lifeless.
Owner of the land Hammad Salibi said that the settlers had repeatedly targeted his 40-dunum land, and that he and his brothers cultivated it anew after every attack despite assaults by those settlers on him and his brothers, who jointly own the land.
http://fwd4.me/09mT
14 jan 2012, 19:36 , Respect -
Maria 25 aug 2011
Extremist settlers torch 100 olive trees near Ramallah
West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Extremist settlers torched on Thursday 100 olive trees planted by Palestinian farmers in Makhmas, a village in the southeast of Ramallah.
Witnesses told that dozens of settlers provocatively stormed the area and torched olive trees before their withdrawal.
Residents rushed to the scene to put out the massive fire that caused great damage to their properties.
Makhmas council denounced the latest Israeli attack on the village and demanded all human rights institutions to intervene to stop settlers constant violations.
It’s noteworthy that many Palestinian families in the West Bank depend on agricultural production as a main source of income for their livelihood.
http://networkedblogs.com/m6JL7
14 jan 2012, 19:36 , Respect -
Maria 26 aug 2011
Official: Palestinian hurt in clash with settlers
NABLUS (Ma’an) -- A Palestinian man from Nablus was injured in clashes with Israeli settlers and soldiers on Friday, an official said.
Jamal Jerawy, 22, from Qasra village, was hospitalized for injuries sustained in the incident, according to Ghassan Doughlas, a Fatah official monitoring settlement activity in the northern West Bank.
Doughlas said clashes erupted as settlers uprooted olive trees near the Majdolin settlement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416291
14 jan 2012, 19:38 , Respect -
Maria 27 aug 2011
Witnesses: Settlers attack olive trees in Salfit
SALFIT (Ma'an) -- Settlers on Saturday cut down Palestinian-owned olive trees in Salfit in the northern West Bank, witnesses said.
A group of settlers destroyed eight olive trees and damaged two lemon trees belonging to farmer Abdel Razzaq Khaled Mansour in the Wadi Qana area of Deir Istaya, locals told Ma'an.
Local mayor Nathmi Salman said settlers constantly attacked farmers' land and damaged their property.
He appealed to human rights organizations to intervene and "stop this chaos."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=416443
14 jan 2012, 19:38 , Respect -
Maria 30 aug 2011
Jewish settlers attack Qasra village and damage hundreds of olive trees
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Jewish settlers attacked on Monday evening the village of Qasra to the south east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus and inflicted damage on a number of fields planted with olive trees.
Ghassan Daghlas, in charge of settlements file in the northern West Bank, said in a press statement that settlers from the Aish Kodesh settlement outpost attacked the village and started inflicting damage to fields planted with olive trees.
He pointed out that this was the second attack by the settlers on the village in 48 hours, as the settlers attacked the village two days earlier and damaged dozens of olive trees before the villages confronted them and chased them away.
Local sources also said that settlers Monday night uprooted 270 olive saplings from villagers fields at the edge of the village and that the settlers’ attacks increased since evening hours.
The sources also said that settlers were throwing stones at Palestinian cars on the road between Nablus and Ramallah and managed to break some car windows.
http://fwd4.me/0AFT
14 jan 2012, 19:39 , Respect -
Maria 5 sept 2011
Israel Continues to Uproot Hundreds of Olive Trees for Construction of Separation Wall
al-walaje_wall
At 8 am this morning (5 September) bulldozers arrived at the olive tree fields in the Bethlehem-area village of al-Walaje. They were driven by private contractors and guarded by Israeli soldiers.
The bulldozers blocked the way for everybody, except the members of the three families who own the land. The families could be there, to witness, complain, cry, but nothing else. Dozens of olives trees were uprooted yesterday, just a month before the beginning of the olive harvest season and a week after the Israeli High Court ruled that it was essential for Israel’s security to incarcerate al-Walaje by building the Separation Wall all around it.
“In view of this situation, we believe that the harm caused by the fence’s route to the petitioners is reasonable and proportionate in comparison to the great security value that results from the fence along this route”, the Israeli judges concluded. Now, in order to build the Wall, Israeli forces must uproot hundreds of olive trees, destroying part of the past, the present and the future of the 2,400 village residents.
“They are doing huge environmental damage here”, denounced the Palestinian activist Professor Mazen Qumsiyeh. He arrived after the soldiers and saw how the pile of uprooted olive trees grew over the hours. After midday, the bulldozers kept working and, according to Qumsiyeh, they will continue to do so tomorrow, on Tuesday. Professor Qumsiyeh called for international and Palestinian activists to join them in al-Walaje tomorrow morning to pressure the soldiers to stop this crime.
The last series of uprootings began in June, two months before the aforementioned High Court ruling. At the beginning of June, Jamal Barghouti reported that Israeli soldiers invaded his land and uprooted more than 80 olive trees and some Cypress trees that have given shade to the fields surrounding the Palestinian village for over 70 years.
Every time they come, the Israeli soldiers repeat that they are going to build special gates so the Palestinian farmers can continue to work their fields. Yet Palestinians know better. Reports and personal experiences demonstrate that these gates provide only limited access and with time the farmers and owners that continue to cultivate their land on the other side of the Separation Wall are a dwindling minority.
http://fwd4.me/0Ahz
14 jan 2012, 19:39 , Respect -
Maria 6 sept 2011
Village council: Israeli soldiers destroy trees in Al-Walaja
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Israeli soldiers uprooted a number of trees on Monday in the village of Al-Walaja, north of Bethlehem, the official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA reported.
Saleh Khalifa, head of the village council, said that soldiers entered the village Monday morning and cut down olive trees to make way for a section of the separation wall.
Israeli forces also blocked the main entrances to the village, Khalifa added.
He called on rights groups to intervene to prevent the destruction of Palestinian land.
Earlier in September, EU representatives said they were "deeply concerned" by the impact of the Israeli separation wall on the village, saying it "will cut off much of the village's land," preventing residents from accessing their property and agricultural land.
Upon completion the wall will completely "encircle" the village, EU representatives said, leaving only a single access road connecting the village to the West Bank.
The separation wall is illegal in all areas built on occupied land, they added.
As well as mounting legal challenges to the route, residents hold regular demonstrations against the impact of the wall.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=417816
14 jan 2012, 19:40 , Respect -
Maria 7 sept 2011
Al Walajeh: Demonstrators , Military clash over olive trees uproot.
Bethlehem - PNN - The Israeli Military attacked a group of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists, participating in a peaceful demonstration against the enlargement of the wall in Al-Walajah, North West of Bethlehem.
For the second day running, the Israeli Military cut and uprooted the olive trees of the area around West Bank’s village of Al-Walajah. The dredging works were carried out in the area of Ain Joazh, where the Israeli Military is completing the building of the apartheid wall.
Awad Abu Sawi, coordinator of the popular resistance committees against the Wall and settlements in Bethlehem’s Agricultural Directorate, informed PNN that the Israeli Military physically attack the demonstrators as they were trying to stop the bulldozers. “They beat Israeli, French, Italian and German activists, and also one of the journalists” he said.
An Israeli peace activist was arrested, and took to an unknown destination, together with Palestinian citizen Youssef Sharkawi.
The Israeli Military forces declared Zaytoonat al-Badawi area as “a closed military zone” and threatened the participants in the demonstration, forcing them to leave.
Mazen Al Azzeh, Coordinator of the Popular Campaign against the Wall in Bethlehem, said that the Israeli Military uprooted over 120 olive and carob trees, “damaging the land of the citizens from Ain Joazh’s area.”
Dawood Ali Rabah, Hassan Mohammed al-Atrash, and Ismail Yusuf al-Atrash families’ lands were the most affected lands by the bulldozers’ dredging.
The demonstrators claimed their right to “at least” keep the uprooted trees to replant them in other areas of the village. However, they were given to neighbouring settlers to be replanted in the Israeli settlements. “The settlers stole the olive trees to mislead the world that those trees have been on their lands long time ago”, said Abu Sway.
The Agricultural expert Nadi Farraj, who participated in the demonstration, said that the protestors managed to transfer 13 olive trees, thanks to farm machinery donated by the YMCA. “They will be replanted in a close by neighbourhood”, he said, and pointed out that they insisted to continue transferring more olive trees to be cultivated again.
Peace activist Mahmoud Zawahra denounced the continuous attacks of the occupation forces, against Palestinian citizens, internationals and Israeli peace activists. He also emphasized that such attacks will not deter Palestinian people from exercising their right of resistance against the Israeli occupation.
http://fwd4.me/0Axy
14 jan 2012, 19:40 , Respect -
Maria 11 sept 2011
Fire devours hundreds of olive trees west of Jenin
JENIN, (PIC)-- A massive fire erupted Saturday night in Anin village west of Jenin city in the West Bank, devouring hundreds of olive trees, locals reported.
They added that the Israeli occupation authorities hindered efforts by emergency workers to contain the fire, increasing losses ahead of the harvesting season next month.
The Israeli apartheid wall stands between Anin village, known for its wealth of olive groves, and Umm al-Fahm.
Palestinians residing near the wall are often subjected to plans by the Israelis to displace them, as they at times are not allowed to enter their lands. They are also subjected to overgrazing by Jewish settlers and arson.
http://fwd4.me/0BD2 14 jan 2012, 19:42 , Respect -
Maria 19 sept 2011
Witnesses: Settlers uproot over 500 trees in Salfit
SALFIT (Ma’an) -- Israeli settlers uprooted over 500 olive and fig trees in Deir Istiya village in Salfit on Monday morning, witnesses said.
Onlookers said residents of the Revava settlement chopped down trees using a chainsaw in Qarawat Bani Hassan village near Deir Istiya.
The village mayor said the field belonged to Daoud Yousef Harb, a resident of Deir Isitya.
Farmer Harb Rayan, who worked on the land, told Ma'an that over 500 trees were uprooted and the 23-acre field was completely destroyed.
Rayan blamed settlers from the nearby Revava settlement, noting that tire tracks from settler jeeps were left in the dirt.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421568 14 jan 2012, 19:43 , Respect -
Maria 20 sept 2011
Witnesses: Settlers set fire to fields in Qalqiliya
QALQILIYA (Ma’an) -- Residents of the illegal Zufin settlement on Tuesday set fire to fields behind an area of the separation wall in Qalqiliya, witnesses said.
Witnesses reported seeing a group of settlers in the area before a vast area of olive fields was set alight.
They said Palestinian firefighters were denied access to the area by Israeli soldiers stationed at a gate in the separation wall, which completely encircles the city of Qalqiliya.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=421910 14 jan 2012, 19:46 , Respect -
Maria 24 sept 2011
One Palestinian killed_ many injured by Israeli forces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lihsRCTw3Kw
Israeli settlers attacked the village of Qusra, South of Nablus on Friday, and attempted uprooting the village's olive trees, the main source of income for many of the Palestinian villagers. 14 jan 2012, 19:48 , Respect -
Maria 25 sept 2011
An Olive Branch's Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T4aSCUIvPE