Violation: deforesting 200 fruitful peach and grape tress

Location: Sakarya Land

Date: 14-06-2018

Perpetrators: Gush Etzion colonists

Victims: the two civilians Amer Audeh and Jamil Sa'd

Details:

 In the early hours of Thursday, 14June,2018, a group of colonists known price tag group took on deforesting 200 fruitful peach and grape tress in Sakarya ruins in Bethlehem. As a result, some trees got totally damaged, while others were partially so.

It is important to mention that this aggression is not the first; this gang has attacked agricultural lands and deforested tress before. The village is continuously  exposed to the assaults committed by the colonists.  The area is regarded as the colonists' and the occupation's target due to its strategic location. Settlements  are being established there, and the village is considered an obstacle that prevents settlers from their colonial expansion projects in the area. Therefore, inhabitants of this area are paying for their steadfastness in their lands which they have inherited from their ancestors; they are afraid from losing their lands.

Despite of the continuous colonial assaults, the occupation army and police have never deterred these assaults. They even stand to protect this assaulting gang or pretend to pursue the assault  issues. The occupation is utilizing this policy only to not allow shedding lights on the colonists’ assaults and violations.

The civilians of Sakarya ruin hereby testify to the researcher of Land Research Center as following:

'' The occupation imposes its regulations which restrict our movement from the village to any place due to our vicinity to Gush Etzion.  Besides, Israeli authorities do not allow us to add or to modify anything in our homes."

It is important to mention that the agricultural sector is the main source of livelihood in this area. The village's inhabitants always seek to plant constantly and to reap the fruits. Their steadfastness is a reason in protecting the rest of lands from the confiscation plans, in spite of all the difficulties faced by those inhabitants.

Each person has the right to acquire their main rights. People have the right to live in dignity, have the appropriate shelter, and obtain education and medical care. This is stated in human  rights laws in the world.

Article 25 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the right of housing as a part of the rights of adequate and sufficient living, as following:

" Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."

This is the Israeli occupation's policy: It complies to the wishes of the settlers   at the expense of the Palestinians and their properties.

The civilian, Hassan Brejeyya, the representative of Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission hereby testifies to the researcher of Land Research Center as following:

"The landowners have found  Arabic writing on a rock  that reads, ‘stop agricultural terrorism.’ Apparently, settlers regard farmers planting their land as an aggression. I wonder what they consider deforesting trees, demolishing homes, and knocking structures down to be ?"

Sakarya ruin:

 Sakarya ruin is located 10 km from the west south from Bethlehem, bordered by the gathering of Gush Etzion settlements from all sides; it is existed in Nahaleen Land. Its population is (124) people in 2017 AD in accordance with the statistics of the Central Statistical Palestinian Organization, and its area for construction is 49,5 donum.

Settlements close to the land:

Resource: The Unit of Geographic System-Land Research Center

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union.

The contents of this document is the sole responsibility of LRC and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.