Violation: Threatening Palestinian farmers and sabotaging olive trees.

Location: Aj-Jamjoum – Nahhalin / Bethlehem governorate.

Date: October 26^th 2019.

Perpetrators: Settlers of Beit ‘Ayin.

Victims: Abdul Mutalib Fanoun and Yousif Fanoun.

Description:

Saturday, October 26^th 2019, Beit ‘Ayin settlers sabotage 25 aging olive trees (more than 20 years) from Aj-Jamjoum  area south the village , and wrote hatred inciting slogans on several spots around the plot.

Jihad Fanoun told LRC:

“Israeli settlers carried out 3 attacks this year targeting Aj-Jamjoum area , these attacks aim to push farmers away from benefiting their lands.”

Beit Ayin settlement is built on confiscated lands close to Nahhalin village, which made farmers of Nahhalin and its surrounding live under confiscation sword. Beit Ayin settlers protected by the occupation forces harass Palestinian farmers while working in the surrounding farm lands, which made it harder for Palestinians to access and cultivate their lands.

Olive harvesting season is very important to Palestinian farmers, the olive harvest brings good returns to the impoverished farmers, and agriculture used to be a key stone of the Palestinian economy before the occupation authorities, forces, and settlers put all their efforts to destroy it and break the Palestinian farmers’ determination.

Photos 1+2: settlers wrote inciting slogans on several spots in the plot

Photos 3+4: sabotaged olive trees

Nahhalin:[1]

The village is located 9 km to the south west of Bethlehem and 3.5 km to the east of the armistice line of 1949. It is edged by Bitar Illit and Hadar Bitar colonies (north), al Khader (east), Wadi Fukin and the armistice line (west), and number of Israeli colonies (Rush Tzorim, Ealazr, Allon Shevut, and Ezyon) (south).

The village’s total area is 17250 dunums including 496 dunums of built-up area, inhabited by 7460 people according to the PBS statistics of 2007. Israel has confiscated 2988 dunums of the village lands for colonial expansion purposes. 5 colonies inhabited by more than 30,000 colonists reside over the village lands.

The preparation of this document was funded by the EU

The Contents of this document are the responsibility of Land Research Center and do not reflect the positions and views of the European Union

[1] GIS-LRC