2024-11-29
Settlers Cut Down 42 Olive Seedlings in Al Dirat Village East of Yatta , South of Hebron
Violation: Cutting Olive Seedlings
Location: Ad Dirat – Yatta Town / Hebron Governorate
Date of Violation : November 29th 2024 .
Perpetrator: Settlers
Affected party : The citizen Issa Musa’af
Details:
On November 11th 2024 , settlers carried on an attack on a plot that belongs to Issa Mohammad Atya Musa’af in Ad Dirat village , east Yatta town , south of Hebron governorate, as reported to LRC field officer :
The citizen Musa’af (49 years old ) said to LRC officer :
“I own a piece of land with a total area of 2 dunams in Huwwara region , east of Ad Dirat village , adjacent to bypass road( No.357), that passes through the area. Two years ago , I planted it with olive seedlings and I sat up an irrigation system. On the morning of November , 29, 2024 . I went to visit my land, and I found dozens of olive seedlings had been cut off at their stems, there were clear signs of the use of sharp tools on the cut stems. After counting the damage seedlings, the total number reached to 42 seedlings, I knew that settlers attacked my land and destroyed all the seedlings, I submitted a complain about the attack through the Palestinian Coordination Office”.
The citizen Musa’af supports a family of 5 members , 3 of them are children , and the number of females are 2 in the family.
It is worthy mentioning that the karmeil’ settlement was built on confiscated Palestinian lands, which overviews Huwwara area and the surrounding lands that were seized by the occupation, about 700 meters away. Additionally there is another pastoral colonial outpost nearby the area , about 2 kilometers away. That is occupied by settlers who live at this outpost and grazing their animals in the lands of Palestinians and assault on their crops continuously.
Ad Dirat village [1]:
Ad Dirat village is located east of Yatta town, about six kilometers far away, it is an agriculture village, its population about 700 people, its fall under municipality of Kallet al Maiyya and it is inhabited by Yatta families (Al Hamamdeh , Al Masafiah, Al- Adrah ). And the bypass road (No.317) crosses through it and that connects the settlements in the northern West Bank with those in the south, but to east of the village : Arab al Ka’abneh, and Karmeil settlement. While to the west is Yatta town, but to the north : Khirbet Al Buweib, to the south : Umm Lasafa, Maon settlement, the citizens aspire to expend the structural plan for their village, as they have a structural plan of 250 dunams, but they prepared a new plan of 1000 dunams to include all homes and the facilities in the village, hoping to protect it from occupation threat, however the occupation authorities refused to approve to this proposed expansion plan.
Legal Commentary:
The Palestinian environment, in general, is subjected to numerous environmental violations by the Israeli occupation, disregarding all international and national laws and conventions related to the protection of environmental rights. The right to live in a clean and healthy environment is a fundamental human right that has been inherent to mankind since the beginning of creation. The occupation often attempts to present itself as being concerned with international environmental issues, despite having signed major environmental protection agreements, such as the Basel Convention in 1989, the Rotterdam Convention in 2008, the Stockholm Convention in 2001, and the Ramsar Convention in 1971, as well as air quality and climate protocols. Nevertheless, Israel continues to violate all of these treaties without accountability or oversight.
In addition to the provisions regarding the right to enjoy a clean and healthy environment for all those under military occupation according to international laws, conventions, and treaties, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 2200A (d-21) on December 16, 1966, in Article (1), paragraph (2): "...All peoples, in pursuit of their own objectives, have the right to freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising from the international economic cooperation based on the principle of mutual benefit and international law. In no case shall a people be deprived of its means of subsistence...".
Undoubtedly, the violations carried out by the Israeli occupation contradicts with the laws of the occupation state itself before any other laws. Referring to the details of this case, the Israeli Penal Code of 1977 and its amendments stipulate that trespassing on someone else's property to commit a criminal act punishable by law is an offense. By reading Article 452 of the Israeli Penal Code, we find that the law punishes those who commit an offense or cause damage to property such as (a water well, a water reservoir, a dam, a floodgate, planted trees, a bridge, a tank, or a water cistern) with a penalty of five years imprisonment.
In addition to, Article 447 of the Penal Code states: "Anyone who does any of the following with the intent to intimidate, insult, or harass the property owner or commit a crime shall be punished by imprisonment for two years:
(1) Enters or crosses the property;
(2) After entering the property legally, remains there unlawfully.
(b) A crime is committed under this section if the offender carries a firearm or a cold weapon, and the punishment is imprisonment for four years."
By reading the text of this article, we find that the Israeli Penal Code criminalizes the mere act of entering someone else's property without permission, with the intent to insult, harass, or intimidate, and punishes this act with two years of imprisonment. The punishment increases to four years if the offender commits any act on someone else's property using a weapon or a sharp tool, referred to as a "cold weapon." This is explicitly criminalized in the text of Article 447 of the aforementioned Israeli Penal Code. Additionally, a penalty of 5 years imprisonment is imposed on those who cause damage to property mentioned in Article 452. Therefore, the violator, the "settler," should face a compounded violation: the first for entering a property that is not theirs, and the second for trespassing on and cutting down the planted trees, resulting in environmental harm.
Therefore, the Israeli aggressor blatantly violates both international laws and treaties, as well as the internal laws of the "occupying state," in a clear violation. Consequently, the "Israeli judiciary" must hold the settlers accountable and punish them for these actions based on the provisions of their own laws. However, there is no legal accountability for the aggressors by the Israeli judiciary. Despite this, every human being on this earth has the right to live in a clean, healthy, and safe environment, free from any violation or aggression against it.
[1] Source: LRC – GIS.
مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC V - FCDO
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the Norwegian Refugee Council.
إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ المجلس النرويجي. للاجئين
The pictures show the effects of cutting down olive seedlings on the lands of citizen Musa’af
