• Violation: Burning of 70 fruit trees.
• Location: al-Janiya Village / Ramallah Governorate.
• Date of Violation: July 11, 2024.
• Perpetrator: Colonists from the "Talmoun" settlement.
• Affected Party: Several farmers represented by farmer Ziad Youssef Fkheida.

• Description:

  On the afternoon of Thursday, July 11, 2024, al-Janiya Village, located north of Ramallah, witnessed a new attack carried out by a group of colonists from the "Talmoun" settlement encroaching on parts of the village's land. The colonists invaded the "al-Muqe'a" area adjacent to the settlement, taking advantage of the farmers' inability to access their agricultural lands. They set fire to several plots of land planted with fruitful olive and almond trees, resulting in their complete burning and causing significant damage.

 Effects of the burning on al-Janiya Village's lands

It is noteworthy that the occupation forces prevented any farmers from approaching the site, which contributed to the spreading of the fire and the destruction of large areas of olive trees. The damage affected approximately 70 fruitful trees. The damaged trees belong to several farmers, including:

Farmer Ziad Fkheida reported to the Land Research Center researcher:

"The affected land is an area that we have been accustomed to planting and taking care of every year. We used to access it without any coordination or objection from anyone. However, this year, the occupation forces prevented us from entering our land and declared it as a military closed area. We were unable to harvest the olives, and today the colonists are burning the land and causing severe damage to us. This has caused us more suffering and losses, as we could not even extinguish the fire that consumed many of our trees. The colonists want to prevent us from being here again by destroying what remains of our trees.

It is worth noting that the village of al-Janiya has experienced several repeated attacks by extremist colonists, who view the olive tree as a strategic target and, at the same time, an enemy that must be eradicated. Last year, the village of al-Janiya witnessed more than nine attacks against olive trees, with over 400 olive trees being victims. Al-Janiya and neighboring villages, such as Beitillu and Deir Ammar, have been targets of the Israeli occupation and its settlers.

Settlement and land confiscation are the primary issues for the village of al-Janiya, creating a constant concern and anxiety among its residents. This anxiety is due to the continuous expansion of surrounding settlements, which encircle the village from both the eastern and northern sides, encompassing most of the village's agricultural land. Additionally, there is a bypass road that cuts through the village's land, surrounding it from the southern and eastern sides.

Jewish settlements have swallowed up more than 70% of the village's land, including confiscated land where settlements have been built and adjacent lands that are closed near the settlements. Consequently, the village has been deprived of an important source of its economic income, which is agriculture.

Al-Janiya Village:

 Al-Janiya Village is located 12 km northwest of Ramallah. It is bordered to the east by al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya, to the west by Ras Karkar, to the north by Beitillu, and to the south by Deir Ibzi. The total area of the village is 8,519 dunams, with 257 dunams designated for building purposes

As for the bypass roads (numbers 450 and 463), which are 3,000 meters long and control about 300 dunams of village land.

Area Classification According to Oslo:

• Area B: 784 dunams.
• Area C: 7,735 dunams.

Legal Commentary:

The Palestinian environment is generally subjected to numerous environmental violations by the Israeli occupation, disregarding all international and national laws and norms related to protecting environmental rights. The right to live in a clean and healthy environment is inherent to humanity since the beginning of time. The occupation often attempts to appear concerned with international environmental affairs despite having signed major environmental protection agreements, including the Basel Convention of 1989, the Rotterdam Convention of 2008, the Stockholm Convention of 2001, and the Ramsar Convention of 1971, as well as air quality and climate agreements. Nonetheless, it violates all these treaties without accountability or oversight.

In addition to the specific texts regarding the right to enjoy a clean and healthy environment for those under military occupation according to international laws, covenants, and treaties, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights under UN General Assembly Resolution 2200A (D-21) dated December 16, 1966, Article 1, Clause 2 states: "...all peoples have the right to freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic cooperation based on the principle of mutual benefit and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence..."

Undoubtedly, the violations committed by the Israeli side contravene the laws of the "occupying power" as well as other laws. Referring to the details of this case, the Israeli Penal Code of 1977 and its amendments stipulate that infringing on someone else's property to commit a crime is punishable by law. Article 447 states: "Anyone who does any of the following with the intent to intimidate, insult, or annoy the property owner or to commit a crime shall be punished with imprisonment for two years: (1) Enters or crosses the property; (2) After entering the property legally, remains there unlawfully. (b) A crime under this section is committed if the perpetrator carries a firearm or a bladed weapon; the penalty is four years' imprisonment."

By reading this article, we find that the Israeli Penal Code criminalizes merely entering someone else's property without permission for the purpose of insult, annoyance, or intimidation, with a penalty of two years. The penalty is increased to four years if the perpetrator uses a weapon or a sharp tool. Naturally, when a settler enters Palestinian land in Area C and uproots and/or destroys agricultural crops and trees while armed and protected by armed settler groups or the Israeli army, this is explicitly criminalized under the mentioned section of the Israeli Penal Code.

Upon reviewing the case of the mentioned attack, it is clear that the settlers carried out provocative actions and activities against the agricultural land and its owner, which poses a danger to the landowner. This is explicitly stated in Article 192 of the aforementioned Penal Code: "Anyone who threatens a person in any way with unlawful harm to their body, freedom, property, reputation, livelihood, or the life of another person with the intent to intimidate or annoy shall be punished with imprisonment for three years."

Therefore, the Israeli aggressor is in clear violation of both international laws and the internal laws of their own "state," and the "Israeli judiciary" must hold the settlers accountable and punish them according to their own legal texts. However, there is no legal accountability for the aggressors by the Israeli judiciary. Despite this, every person on this earth has the right to live in a clean, healthy, and safe environment free from any violations and attacks.

مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC IV - GFFO

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