This evening, the Human Rights Center "B´Tselem" revealed that, during its efforts to annex more Palestinian lands, between 2015 and 2020, about 14 thousand dunams of land were destroyed on the borders of the besieged Gaza Strip, and 1,402 farmers were affected as a result.
The Center noted in a report that: “After the outbreak of the second intifada in September 2000, Israel began to reduce the Palestinian presence in areas of the Gaza Strip adjacent to the border strip that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel, including large areas of agricultural land. Over the years, the army used to make adjustments to these restrictions according to the area, when the ban included the nearest 500 meters from the border strip, and sometimes the depth of the restricted area reached 1,000 meters and even 1,500 meters from it. The years followed vague criteria in this regard and deliberately failed to inform the residents of accurate information.
The human rights organization said that the enforcement of the ban was carried out in various ways, including shooting - sometimes deadly - at farmers while they were busy cultivating their fields and spraying pesticides over lands adjacent to the border. "B´Tselem" emphasized that between the years 2015-2020, Israel destroyed agricultural crops on these lands, especially by spraying pesticides. According to the data of the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, during the years 2015-2020, Israel destroyed approximately 14,000 dunums of agricultural fields, and 1,402 farmers were damaged as a result. In addition, Israel permanently bulldozes inside the Gaza Strip to clear the land up to a distance of 100 meters from the border strip.
According to the report: “In 2015, after the military operation“ Protective Edge, ”Hamas built a street parallel to the border strip and about 300 meters away from it, and then installed fixed points along the road, and since then, farmers are allowed to access their lands that are up to 100 meters from the strip.
Destroying crops ...
The "B´Tselem" report documented that Israeli military bulldozers destroyed crops on the lands of Yusef Shaheen farmer in Abasan Al-Jadida in the central Gaza Strip. He said, “Israel has carried out operations in which the size of the destruction exceeded what it usually does in terms of“ routine ”destruction. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, that morning the army destroyed a total of 25 dunums of the fields of parsley, Ain Jerada, squash, okra and eggplant, and also damaged the network of pipes extending to irrigate another 20 dunums of agricultural land. Thirteen families together make up about 90 people, half of whom are children.
Sabotage that violates international law ...
B´Tselem added: “This sabotage by Israel violates the provisions of international law that prohibits exposure to private property except in very exceptional circumstances - contrary to the circumstances of this case. Moreover, these practices reveal the invalidity of Israel’s claim that the Gaza Strip is a“ hostile political entity ”and is unique. It is a claim on which Israel relies in its shirking of any responsibility for the lives and welfare of the residents of the Strip and in its disregard for the horrific reality that prevails there as a result of its policies. The Gaza Strip: It allows itself to enter the Gaza Strip whenever it wants, to demolish what it intends to demolish, and to decide which of the residents of the Strip can cultivate any plot of land.
B´Tselem stressed that Israel cannot continue to hide behind these false allegations as long as it persists in this policy towards the Gaza Strip - including the siege policy it has imposed for more than 14 years.
Farmers testimonials ...
B´Tselem published testimonies made by a number of farmers whose crops were destroyed and their only source of livelihood destroyed. In the testimony of a farmer, Ismail Abu Taima (39 years), from Abasan al-Jadida, a father of seven, he gave it to field researcher Khaled al-Azayzeh on October 13.20, he said: Six years ago I rented a plot of land of ten dunums east of Abasan al-Jadida with my brother Fuad, who is a father He has five children, and my brother Hussam, who has four children. Working to cultivate this land is our only source of livelihood. The land is located 100 meters from the border strip, near the Farahin Gate.
He adds: One morning, at around 8:45, I saw four Israeli bulldozers and a large tractor advancing from the south into the Palestinian territories from the direction of Khuza´a, and they were conducting bulldozing activities along the borders. Behind the borders, on the Israeli side, military jeeps were standing and waiting for the vehicles to operate. They did not fire. The bulldozers reached my land and started working and ravaging the parsley field, as well as damaging the irrigation pipelines network. They destroyed a total of 4 dunams and an irrigation pipeline network that extends over 6 dunums, and they all committed within half an hour.
Youssef Shaheen (44 years), from Abasan Al Jadida / Saghira, who is married and has five children, told B´Tselem researcher Al-Azayzeh: “I have been working as a farmer for more than twenty years. About a hundred meters away from the border strip.In the beginning of August I planted eggplant seedlings all over the ground, on Friday 13 October.20 I started working on my land at 7:00 am and I had about 12 workers helping me pick the eggplant. This was the second harvest. At around 09:45, I saw three bulldozers moving in the south side of the Palestinian territories from the direction of the town of Khuza´a, and on their way they were sweeping fields along the border, accompanied by military jeeps on the other side inside the Israeli borders, in addition to two tanks standing on earth mounds.I thought it was a regular sweeping operation like the one they do along the border, up to a hundred meters away from it, and it never occurred to me that the bulldozers would reach us.
