Losses in the Agricultural Sector in Qalqiliya District

February 9, 2001

The district of Qalqiliya lies in the northwest part of the West Bank, bordered in the west by the 1948 Armistice Line with Israel; see map1 . Most of the district lies within a fertile soil zone and agriculture represents a large percentage of its economy. It also has a higher population density than many other West Bank districts. These characteristics are a result of the western groundwater basin, which underlies the district. This groundwater basin is shared between the Palestinians and the Israelis. However, the vast majority of its capacity is used by the Israelis, both in Israel and in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Palestinian water consumption accounts for only about 6% of the total amount of water used from the western groundwater basin.

The fertility of this area and its abundant water resources make it highly desirable to the Israelis in Final Status negotiations. Israel also claims security interests. The western edge of the Qalqiliya district is only about 13 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The Israeli government claims this strip of land is too narrow and threatens the state with being split in two in a time of war. In May 2000 the Israeli government presented how they foresee the future of the West Bank in a Final Status map. By superimposing the Qalqiliya district border on the map it is evident that such a plan would absorb almost the entire district into Israel; see map 2. .

Other developments affirm Israel's interest in annexing the area; click for more. The western edge of the West Bank has long been one of the main areas of Jewish settlement construction. This strategy alters the demography in such a way as to make it more and more difficult to return this land to the Palestinians when the Final Status borders are drawn. Another clue to Israel's plans for the future of the area is highway #6, build right along the edge of the 1949 Armistice Line, and at a lower elevation than the land immediately on the West Bank side of the border; see map 1. It seems doubtful that the Israeli government, with its high concern with security, would build a main highway and leave it permanently in such a vulnerable spot along the border of a future Palestinian state.

The day-to-day methods that the Israeli occupation uses to work toward these long-term plans in Qalqiliya are the same they use throughout the West Bank and Gaza, including land confiscation , destruction of personal property, restriction of movement, and daily harassment. The effect of the occupation is the strangulation of Palestinian communities. Nowhere is this more evident that in the agricultural sector of the Palestinian economy, particularly since the beginning of the Al Aqsa intifada. The Qalqiliya district is heavily dependent on agriculture and its farmers have been hit hard by the occupation in recent months, as shown in the following tables.

Direct Losses to Agriculture in Qalqiliya District … October 2000-January â??2001

Direct losses to Palestinian agriculture include the confiscation and destruction of private property, including greenhouses, nurseries, farm equipment, irrigation systems, orchards, and field crops; see photo1. Both the Israeli Civil Administration (military government) and the Israeli settlers carry out these acts of destruction on a regular basis. For a complete list of the direct damage done to Palestinian farmers . Both the Israeli Civil Administration (military government) and the Israeli settlers carry out these acts of destruction on a regular basis. For a complete list of the direct damage done to Palestinian farmers see Table 1.

Table 1: Direct Agricultural Losses in Qalqiliya District, October 2000 – January 2001

Number	Farmer Name	Village	Type of Damage	Size of Loss	Amount of loss (in $)	Date of Incident
1	Atah Abdel Karim Saleh Mohammed Khalil Shrim Kaid Abdel Karim Atah Mohammed Al-Horani *Hasan Ishkiro	Qalqiliya	Destroyed nursery	N/A*	60,000â?	October 23, 2000
2	Abdel kader Walwil	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed 200 citrus trees and olive trees	5 dunumâ?¡	29,000	October 31, 2000
3	Mohammed Sa'id Al-Salem	Habla	Bulldozed 20 citrus trees	0.5 dunum	2,000	November 4, 2000
4	Abedallah Ahmed Al-Raâ??I	Habla	Destroyed Irrigation system on the way to Habla		250	November 4, 2000
5	Shaker Jamos	Habla	Bulldozed 30 rough lemon trees	1 dunum	750	November 4, 2000
6	Mershed Sliman Ali Sliman	â??Isla	Bulldozed 280 10-15 year-old olive trees	30 dunum	28,000	November 7, 2000
7	Mohammed Abdel Raheem Da'oud	Qalqiliya	Land bulldozed which contained 150 citrus trees, one olive tree. Destroyed an irrigation system and a fence	4 dunum	19,000	November 9, 2000
8	Hussni Hasan Mohammed Al-Suqi	'Izbat Salman	Vegetation bulldozed. Destroyed irrigation system and uprooted 100 rough lemon trees	1dunum	2,875	November 12, 2000
9	Basem Abdel Atif Ja'edi	Qalqiliya	Demolished an agriculture room with its equipment and a 15 meter irrigation pipe	0.5 dunum	2,500	November 12, 2000
10	Yaser Nazal Al-Harash	Qalqiliya	Destroyed vegetables and irrigation system	1 dunum	1000	November 12, 2000
12	Munther Mohammed Hasan Zeid	Qalqiliya	Destroyed 6 inch diameter water pipe (6 inch diameter, 100 meters long)	100 meter pipe	250	November 14, 2000
13	Rasheed Mohammed Qa'mar	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed ornamental trees and oak trees	2 dunum	100,000	November, 14 2000
14	Taghred Adel Ass'ad	Habla	Bulldozed 70 citrus trees and destroyed irrigation pipe (4 inch diameter, 60 meters long )	2 dunum and 60 meter pipe	8,000	November 17, 2000
15	Mohammed Sa'id Saleh Aqra'	Qalqiliya	Over 2 donkeys killed as a result of gas		430	November 19, 2000
16	Kaied Abdel Karim 'Atah	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed nursery and green houses with seedlings	6 dunums in two locations	75,000	November 21, 2000
17	Kaied Abdel Karim â??Atah	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed nursery with seedlings and other buildings	4 dunums	300,000	November 21, 2000
18	Mou'in Abdel Karim 'Ata Wa'el Abu Al-'Adle	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed land and nurseries	4 dunums	248,000	November 21, 2000
19	Mohammed Mahmoud Saleh Da'oud	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed nursery with seedlings and other buildings	7.5 dunums	321,250	November 21, 2000
20	Tahseen Shareef Yousef Ishreim	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed nursery with seedlings and other buildings	5 dunums	125,000	November 21, 200
21	Hussein Abdel Jabbar 'Eid	Jinsafut	Opened new 2.5 km bypass road (8-10 meter width) to colony. Uprooted 15 olive trees and 14 forest trees	N/A	4,000	November 22, 2000
22	Rashad Ahmad Salmi	Qalqiliya	Damaged 50 meter fence	.5 dunum	500	November 25, 2000
23	Yasser Sa'ed Al-Sa'ou	Qalqiliya	Destroyed vegetables and uprooted 50 rough lemon trees along with fence around the trees	2 dunums	1,250	November 25, 2000
24	Sa'ed Titan	Qalqiliya	Destroying coulifower field	.5 dunum	250	November 25, 2000
25	Wajeeh Mohammed Samy Adnan Hasan Salmy	Qalqiliya	Demolished agriculture room and farm equipment	N/A	2,000	November 25, 2000
26	Mo'in â??Ata Wae'l Al- 'Adl	Habla	Damging nursery	1 dunum	2,250	November 26, 2000
27	Hussein Abdel Jabbar 'Eid	Jinsafut	Opened bypass road uprooting 30 olive trees	N/A	6,000	November 30, 2000
28	Hamed Ahmad Mohammad 'Adwan	'Azzun	Destroyed fence around orchard and cut branches. Stole fruit	2 dunums	500	December 3, 2000
29	Abdel Qader Mahmoud Abdel Halim Riyan	Kafr Qaddum	Stole 16 sacks of olives each containing 50 kilo	900 kilograms of olives	1,000	December 4, 2000
30	Munther Hasan Zeid	Qalqiliya	Destroyed water pipe (6 inch diameter, 100 meters long)	100 m	250	December 4, 2000
31	Ahmad Abdel rahman Quzmar Hasan Abdallah Salman Mohammad Abdallah Salman Hasan Hussein Quzmar Ibrahim Hasan Salman Da'oud Hasan Salman Mahmoud Yousef Salman Mousa Yousef Salman Abdel Karim Yousef Salman Ghazi Abdallah Salman *Abdel Rahman Salman	'Izbat Salman	â?? Uprooted 240 12-15 year-old olive trees â?? Uprooted 25 15 year old fruit and almond trees â?? Uprooted 50 20year-old calamantina trees	250 dunums total	â?? 48,000 â?? 2,500 â?? 5,000	December 12, 2000
32	Abdel Latif Noufel	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed a nursery at the northern entrance to Qalqiliya city and destroyed greenhouse and agriculture room with seedlings. The nursery destroyed for 3rd time	3 dunums	112,225	December 13, 2000
33	Fahd Abdel Rahim Khleif	An Nabi Elyas	Destroyed water pipe	20 meters	150	December 19, 2000
34	Riyad Amin Abdel Rahman Hourani	Qalqiliya	Destroyed ceramic and plastic containers	1 dunum	3,750	December 21, 2000
35	Taysir Mohammad 'Ali Abdel Fattah Da'oud	Qalqiliya	Destroyed ceramic containers with seedlings and a water tank	1 dunum	3,625	December 21, 2000
36	Ahmad Rashad Zeid	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed land with vegetables and fence	.5 dunum	1,000	December 31, 2000
37	Hasan Yousef Ishreim	Qalqiliya	Destroyed ceramic	N/A	5,000	December 31, 2000
38	Isam Abdallah 'Omar Salim	'Azzun	Destroyed livestock farm	N/A	5,000	December 31, 2000
39	Naif Abdel Qader 'Awad Jabr	Kafr Laqif	Bulldozed olive trees	N/A	5,000	December 31, 2000
40	Ahmad 'Ali Qadoura	Kafr Laqif	Bulldozed olive trees	N/A	5,000	December 31, 2000
41	'Adel AbdelJawad Daâ??as	Immatin	Bulldozed olive trees	N/A	2,500	December 31, 2000
42	Da'ouid 'Ali mahmoud Salem	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed olive trees and detroyed greenhouse	N/A	3,500	December 31, 2000
43	'Adel Yousef Mohammad Hardan	Qalqiliya	Destroyed greenhouses	N/A	800	December 31, 2000
44	Ma'azouz Abdel Rahim Da'oud	Qalqiliya	Bulldozed full grown trees and irrigation system	N/A	19,000	December 31, 2000
45	Mahmoud Abdel Rahman Quzmar	'Izbat Salman	Bulldozed olive trees	N/A	1,500	December 31, 2000
46	'Ali Ghaleb 'Ali Salmy	Qalqiliya	Destroyed ceramic and plastic containers with seedlings	N/A	2,000	January 10, 2001
47	Wa'el Ahmad Moustafa Al-'Adl	Qalqiliya	Damaged ceramic and plastic containers with seedlings, and damaged rainwater gathering channel	N/A	2,250	January 10, 2000
48	Mohammad Abdel Rahim Hussein Sameek	Qalqiliya	Damaged cement containers and seedlings	N/A	2,750	January 10, 2000
49	Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad Farraj	Qalqiliya	Damaged ceramic and plastic containers with seedlings and electricity network	N/A	13,000	January 10, 2000
50	Mazen 'Ali Hasan Da'oud	Qalqiliya	Damaged ceramic and plastic containers with seedlings	N/A	1,750	January 10, 2000
51	Gkadra Abdel Qader Hindi	Qalqiliya	Uprooted trees, destroyed irrigation pipes	4 dunums	4,000	January 11, 2000
52	'Omar Mahmoud Swelem	Qalqiliya	Damaged irriagtion network and plastic containers by bombs	2 dunums	500	N/A
53	Abdel Rahman Yousef Al-Aqra'	Qalqiliya	Damaged ground well and electric motor	N/A	14,300	January 11, 2000
54	Majed Abdel Rahim Abdallah	Jayyus	Uprooted citrus trees	N/A	2,500	January 27, 2000
55	Raouhi Ahmad Sweiki	Jinsafut	Uprooted 15 olive trees	N/A	1,500	January 30, 2000

Total Losses 1,609,405

* Not Available

According to the UN Special Coordinator for the Occupied Territories, the per capita income in the Occupied Territories in the year 2,000 is estimated at USD 1,680. (UNSCO report: ''The Impact on the Palestinian Economy of Confrontations, Mobility Restrictions and Border Closures, 1, October 2000 â?? 31, January 2001'').
4 dunums = 1 acre

Total worth of direct losses to farmers in Qalqiliya district from October, 2000 to January 2001: $1,609,405

Indirect Losses to Agriculture in Qalqiliya District … October 2000-January â??2001

Indirect Losses in Palestinian agriculture include a number of factors, most of them caused by the closure policy of the occupation. The Israeli military government has set up a network of checkpoints and roadblocks on Palestinian roads, severely limiting their freedom of movement; click for more. For farmers this means that they are either extremely limited or completely prohibited in their ability to transport their crops to the markets, whether in neighboring countries or within the West Bank and Gaza. Therefore they sometimes must sell their goods locally at a reduced price. When they do attempt to transport their goods to market they are often forced to take dangerous back roads that extend the length of their journey and damage their produce and vehicles. On top of these costs, the price of feed for animals has risen. In addition, they are at times unable to work their land either because they cannot reach it or because they fear being shot by settlers. The following tables record the financial costs of this damage in the Qalqiliya district from October 2000 to January 2001.

Table 2: Indirect Losses in Plant Production

Commodity	Losses in US$
Guava	62,000
Citrus	698,000
Vegetables	2,447,200
Olives	2,927,250
Nurseries	304,000
Total	6,438,450

Table 3: Indirect Losses in Animal Production

Type	Commodity	Losses in US$
Sheep	Feed	120,000
	Milk	72,000
	Lambs	121,430
Goats	Feed	60,000
	Milk	45,000
	Kids	70,000
Dairy Cattle	Feed	43,200
Dairy Cattle	Milk	135,000
Calves	Feed	43,200
Calves	Milk	96,000
Chickens	Broilers	918,667
	Eggs	459,000
	Chicks	16,667
	Feed for egg production	90,000
	Feed for meat production	32,500
Bees	Honey	35,000
Total	2,357,664

Table 4: Other Indirect Losses

Type	Losses in US$
Loss of income to drivers	650,000
Increase in tax for transportation permits	18,000
Loss from halt to agricultural projects	150,000
Total	818,000

Total worth of indirect losses to farmers in Qalqiliya district from October, 2000 to January 20001: $9,614,114

Table 5: Total Direct and Indirect Losses to Agriculture in Qalqiliya , October 2000 – January 2001

Direct	1,609,405
Indirect	9,614,114
Total	11,223,519

These figures represent an enormous loss to the Palestinian farmers and to the overall economy in the Qalqiliya district as a result of the tightening of the closure on the West Bank and Gaza since the beginning of the Al Aqsa intifada. Since the beginning of the peace process the Palestinian economy has experienced a downward spiral as a result of military occupation and the strangulation of their communities. This has undercut confidence in the Israeli government as a legitimate partner for peace, and indeed in the peace process itself. The impoverishment of the Palestinian people does not provide a solid basis for the security of either the Israelis or the Palestinians and must stop if peace negotiations are to succeed in a just settlement.

For more on the impacts of the occupation on the agricultural sector see the following case studies: