Zaytoun harvest team report

Olive Harvest Report  2011    Friends of Madama  and  Burin, Zaytoun and IWPS
 
This is the third year Friends of Madama and Burin, working in conjunction with Zaytoun and IWPS return to the small villages of Burin, Madama and Asaira Al Qibliyeh to offer solidarity during the time of the Olive Harvest.    These villages situated in the northern West Bank, are threatened by the close proximity of two highly volatile settlements, Yitzah and Bracha. Established in 1983, both are categorized by the UN and NGOs as ideological: believing it is their God-given right to take the land and dispose the Palestinians. During the Harvest the Palestinian farmers are more vulnerable to attack by settlers, as the expanding settlements encroach on the olive groves. ‘The root cause of the settler violence phenomenon is Israel’s decades-long policy of facilitating the settling of its citizens inside occupied Palestine.’i (OCHA Nov 2011)

 The Harvest
The 2011 Olive Harvest which took place in October, was for us a mixture of exhaustion, exhilaration and frustration. We were 17 volunteers of different gender, age, background and experience, from England, Wales and Ireland. Some had been to the area before, for others it was a new experience.  We met in Jerusalem travelled north towards Nablus stopping for lunch at the International Women’s Peace Service headquarters to meet the team and be updated about their work in the area. The IWPS, who have had a presence in the West Bank since 2002, monitor and report on human rights abuses in the area. This year we were interrupted in our picking or told to leave the fields on a number of occasions. Settlers were in evidence but we did not have the physical attacks that we experienced last year.
Our first morning harvesting was calm and tranquil until a ‘settler alert’ call came from the village and suddenly the atmosphere changed. Five armed settlers were seen coming down the hill but when a number of young Palestinian men made their presence obvious, the settlers reconsidered and withdrew.
On another morning the Israeli army prevented us from accompanying a farmer to his groves saying they would protect the farmers from the Bracha settlers who were hovering on the edge of the grove and ordered us to leave. As the farmers harvested a settler started to photograph one of them, when asked to stop he would not do so, the farmer then placed his hand over the camera and was promptly arrested.  He was released the following day after his mother paid bail of 700 shekels (about £120, an amount which few villagers would be able to pay), however, at times like this other people in the village will help.  This money will not be refunded, neither is it the end of the story as this man will have to appear before a military court. We await the outcome. 

There is a high court ruling of 2007 that compels the Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians from settlers while harvesting. It is often ignored or overruled by ‘security issues’ and even when implemented this is done in an inconsistent and often adverse way. The army, not the farmers, designate the few days – which are never sufficient – when they will offer protection. When we arrive with the Palestinians to help in what is very labour intensive work, their first move is generally to order internationals to leave. When we argue the border police who accompany them threaten us with arrest and the army say they will stop the Palestinians harvesting if we don’t go. In these circumstances we have no option but to withdraw. The Israeli army and police are extremely reluctant to engage with settlers and often allow them to approach the Palestinian farmers. If there is danger of actual conflict it is the Palestinians who will be told to leave. An army DCO (district commanding officer) with a ‘closed military zone’ order has the absolute right to decide who is allowed in the designated area. The settler population is approaching half a million and 25% of the officer ranks in the army are themselves settlers. In addition the Israeli police officers serving on the West Bank are often from the settlement police stations making a conflict of interests inevitable.
There was one memorable day in our second week when the army did uphold the 2007 ruling. The Israeli commander, a Druze, stationed his men on the perimeter of the olive grove, keeping the settlers out and allowing the Palestinians to harvest. This was the first time any of us had heard of such a happening and it was the talk of the village.
Vandalism of Palestinian trees
One of our major success stories on last year’s harvest was accompanying a family to their groves near the settlement of Yitzhar, land that had not been tended or harvested for 10 years due to settler violence.  This ancient grove which also produced figs and dates borders the Madama well which supplied water to the village, prior to it being vandalized by settlers.  An Oxfam project to reopen the well in 2002 was halted when their workers were assaulted by settlers. This year we hoped to accompany the family to the same area to harvest, they thanked us but said it would not be necessary as settlers had destroyed the trees by burning them. This was not an isolated incident, the burnt and vandalized trees were obvious on the hills leading up to the settlements; groves which bore fruit last year now reduced to burnt stumps. OCHA figures estimate 10,000 trees have been destroyed this year alone and attacks on Palestinians and their property are up by 40% on last year.

Olive groves under Yitzhar settlement burnt in late summer 2011

Many groves are not tended due to their close proximity to the settlements. Settlers cite security issues: the day we were ordered off the land the incident was described on the Bracha web site as ‘an attack by Palestinians and International terrorists’. Meanwhile the settlers have freedom to roam the hillsides causing fear and destruction.

The stories told by Palestinians we meet bring the human tragedy home. A young policeman built his house on the outskirts of Burin near the Bracha settlement. Early one morning a few months back he was on the flat roof of his house when he was shot by a settler. A man in his own house, gunned down with impunity. The bullet wounds to his stomach, back and leg have healed but and a bullet in his forearm has damaged the nerves leaving him with minimal movement in his hand. The assailant was identified by the victim and two witnesses and was actually arrested, but no action was taken and he was subsequently released. There is no redress or compensation for his victim. Despite his disability he did what he could on the harvest, the family all joining in. The evening meal we shared at his home was typical of the warmth and hospitality we received from many Palestinians who opened their homes to us. On these occasions you understand the meaning of ‘living for the moment’ We spent wonderful days accompanying farmers and their families then exhausted and dusty, joining them to share the evening meal. One young man, whose family has had the tragedy of two sons (one 18 and one only 13) shot by settlers, became a proud first-time-father during our visit and we were able to share in their joy. On our last night in the village a large party was thrown for us with music and dancing. 
 
To coax your daughters and sons through school, to university,
to lovingly support their dreams of opportunity, of freedom in a foreign land
- while dreading the sapping of  Burin’s staying power that each departure means
 

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