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Jalud, the occupied West Bank— With the arrival of the olive harvest season in Palestine, a 10-day campaign to aid and protect farmers has begun in areas considered high-risk for Israeli settlers.
On Wednesday morning, dozens of Palestinian volunteers, young and old, arrived in the village of Jarud in the southern outskirts of Nablus in the occupied West Bank to help landowners harvest olive trees as soon as possible.
Another group of volunteers worked at the same time as the landlord of the neighboring village of Qaryout.
The campaign is organized by the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and will cover 12 villages, mainly in the southern part of Nablus, but also in Ramallah and Bethlehem. It will bring together more than 250 volunteers, including university students, agricultural committees, local councils and village residents.
Muayyad Bsharat, UAWC’s propaganda chief, told Al Jazeera that the main purpose of the campaign is to “strengthen the control of our natural resources and allow Palestinian farmers to return to their land in Area C and other areas threatened by Israeli occupation.”
At least 60% of the occupied West Bank is zoned C, and all Israeli settlements are located here under the direct control of the Israeli occupying forces.
“Our idea is to launch the event in a’hot spot’ area south of Nablus,” Bsharat said. “The presence of large numbers of people on the land scares the settlers and prevents them from attacking. When we bring 50 to 60 volunteers every day, it is a banner to keep the settlers away.”
Youth groups and popular committees also launched other activities, which lasted until November.
“Farmers will feel that they are being helped, especially in the most sensitive areas, where they must pick olives quickly,” Bsharat said.
Muayyad Bsharat said that the main purpose of the campaign is to “strengthen control of our natural resources” [Al Jazeera]South Nablus
The Palestinian villages south of Nablus faced the most systematic attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including Qusra, Burin and’Urif. Attacks include physical attacks and beatings with stones and sticks, damage to properties such as houses, schools and cars, as well as the theft and destruction of crops and fields.
In 2020, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded 40 attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers during the olive harvest, 17 of which occurred in Nablus Province, followed by 10 in Ramallah.
Jalud and the neighboring village of Qaryout are surrounded by three large settlements and a series of outposts located on the edge of their land.These two small villages are subject to Frequent attacks Settlers, they often do so under the protection of the Israeli army.
The settlers in the outposts near Adei Ad, Esh Kodesh and Ahiya are among the most violent in the occupied West Bank. In 2019, settlers burned about 1,000 olive trees in Jalud. The most recent time was in May, the settlers set fire to the olive grove for the third time and chopped down a telephone pole serving Jalud.
The 52-year-old farmer Qassem al-Haj Mohammad and his brothers own several plots of land in Jalud, which they inherited from their father. The family’s land has been attacked by settlers on several occasions-one was to cut down 40 olive trees they planted in the 1980s, and the other was to burn down 150 olive trees planted by their father in the 1960s.
He told Al Jazeera that the settlers tried to anger the Palestinians in order to elicit a reaction, and then they could use this as an excuse to prevent them from entering their land. “They want us to do anything-just so that they can occupy this area.”
On Wednesday, 52-year-old Qassem al-Haj Mohammad worked on his land in the village of Jalud near Nablus in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. [Al Jazeera]The struggle of the family goes beyond the attacks of the settlers.
Qasim’s family, like many others, is prohibited from entering most of the land near the settlement except for two to three days a year. Qasim said: “They allow us to plant crops in one or two days and harvest in one day for a whole year.”
“We are not allowed to do anything else to maintain the trees, so every year, our production is losing money,” he continued, explaining that in one year, he and the other five landowners lost a total of about 40,000 shekels. (US$12,400).
“However, we are forced to work there within the days allowed. If we leave it, the army and settlers will use this as an excuse to catch them,” he continued.
Qasim estimates that Palestinian farmers in the area lose tens of thousands of shekels each year due to restrictions on their land due to Israeli occupation.
‘Always in groups’
In the nearby village of Qaryout, Rima Qaryouti and her family worked all day in their olive grove, overlooking the large settlement of Hilo.
She said that because of concerns about the safety of the children, she and her husband stopped bringing their children with them. They ensured that they “always come in groups.”
“They want us to be afraid of coming to our land. They don’t want us to harvest our olives. But we always come. We are resilient,” she told Al Jazeera. “When we are in groups, at least we feel safer-we are together.”
She said that when she and her family arrived in this land, they “always saw settlers coming, and they were always protected by the army.”
Palestinian farmers say that when Israeli settlers arrive, they are always protected by the army [Al Jazeera]Bashar Gariut, a local anti-settlement activist, told Al Jazeera that since the harvest began, settlers have attacked Gariut at least six times. “There is no harvest season without crimes, assaults, and arson. Sometimes they beat people with sticks.”
His family owns about 20 dunams (2 hectares) of land in the nearby mountains, and he said that the settlers tried to take over the land, including setting up caravans several times. He said the area’s strategic location between the two large settlements of Shiloh and Eli — Israel’s attempt to link these two settlements together — puts it at risk of confiscation.
“We are racing against time, fighting against settlements,” Qaryout said, explaining that most of the farmland in Qaryout and Jalud has been designated as Zone C.
Sarah Muscroft, director of the Occupied Palestinian Territory Office of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told Al Jazeera, “[Palestinians] Facing increasing violence from Israeli settlers.Many are Unsafe on the way to school, At work, even at home. Their groves, especially olive trees, were destroyed, reducing their income levels.
“As an occupying power, Israel must always protect civilians from all forms of violence and always bring the perpetrators of such violence to justice,” she added.
‘We will not leave’
Back to Jarud, the chairman of the local council, Abdullah Haji Mohammed, said that such protection activities are important to support and strengthen the resilience of Palestinian farmers.
He told Al Jazeera that the extra help also “reduces the burden on farmers and reduces the cost of olive harvesting” because the cost of hiring help is high.
The landlord Qasim promised to continue to maintain the land he was allowed to enter, even though he would suffer losses and face restrictions every year.
He said that Palestinian farmers “need international intervention” to “put pressure on them.” [Zionist] Entity (Israel)”.
Qasim said: “This is our land and rights, which we inherited from our parents.”
“As long as we breathe, we will not leave our land for settlers.”
Palestinian farmers are prohibited from entering most of the land near the settlement, except for only two to three days a year [Al Jazeera]
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