Palestine is known for its olives, olive oil and vegetables, which
are exported far and wide. The olive trees, in particular, are an
important symbol of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.
The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Since then,
about 700,000 Israeli settlers have illegally settled in the Palestinian
territory. and have been stealing from, attacking and destroying olive groves, farmland and property there for years.
But these incursions have stepped up in recent weeks, as Israeli forces and settlers mount armed raids while Palestinians are confined to their homes under curfew,
Abbas Milhem, director of the Palestinian Farmers’ Union (PAFU) in
Ramallah said. His own family’s farm was among those targeted.
‘A second war is happening in the West Bank’
Just over two weeks ago, armed Israeli settlers invaded the Milhem
farm, fired guns in the direction of the people working on the harvest
and stole olives.
One of the workers at the farm, Iman Abdallah Jawabri, 45, was
harvesting olives in a crew that included her husband when five settlers
came in.
“They shot towards us as if they wanted to scare us, then when they
came closer, they took our phones to prevent us from taking photos of
them. Then they told all the women to leave and started hitting the men,
forcing them to sit on the ground under the olive trees.
“We (the women) were still looking at them from afar. After this, they took all of our olives and forced us to leave.”
The farm is now under military control despite being in Area B of the
West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority technically controls
civilian matters. The Milhems and their workers have been unable to
return...
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https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/26/israeli-settlers-steal-palestinian-farmers-land-in-occupied-west-bank
Israeli settlers steal Palestinian farmers’ land in occupied West Bank
Emboldened by curfews and raids on Palestinians, illegal settlers have stepped up violence and property theft.
Published On 26 Nov 202326 Nov 2023
Farmers
in the occupied West Bank face near-daily incursions and violence from
Israeli settlers, to the point that they live in fear of having their
homes and land stolen, they say.
Added to that is the violence they witness in nearby urban areas, like Jenin city and refugee camp that the Israeli army stepped up raids on, killing 10 people and wounding 20 in just one week. ...READ MORE
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