Ravaging 26 Olive Trees in Madama

Violation: ravaging 26 olive trees.

Location: Saratasa, Southern Madama – Nablus.

Perpetrators: Yizhar colonists.

Victim(s): Amin Nassar and Mahmoud Zyada.

Date: November 7, 2011.

 

The Israeli aggressions increased rapidly during the olive picking season; this time, an attack took place in Saratasa, 500 meters to the south of the village built up area. In the early morning hours on November 7, 2011, the second day of Al Adha Eid (a Muslim holiday), a group of Yizhar colonists broke into Saratasa areaand started cutting olive trees branches using saws and axes.26 olive trees owned by Amin Nassar (18) and Mahmoud Zyada (8), were ravaged as a result.

 

It must be pointed that Saratasa has been one of the most popular targets for Israeli colonists operating in a systematic approach under the protection, probably supervision, of the Israeli Occupation Army since the year 2000.

 

Madama is located 7 km to the south west of Nablus. Its total area is 3400 dunums including 600 dunums of built area inhabited by 2100 people.Its lands are being mostly planted with olives and cereals as well as fig and prunes.

 

The economic situation in the village has been deteriorating in an unprecedented rate; the unemployment rate has reached up to 70% due to the fact that most of the workforce used to work in the so-called state of Israel. Currently, the locals are largely dependant on humanitarian aid and alms.

 

The colony of Yizhar was established in 1983 on Palestinian lands belonging to the villages of Burin and Asira Al Qiblia south west of the city of Nablus. The colony has expanded multiple times ever since as additional tens of dunums were confiscated for that purpose. The additional dunums were taken from the villages of Burin, Asira Al Qiblia, Oreef, Madama and Huwwara. The built-up area of the colony was 158 dunums as of 2005 while the area of land under its jurisdiction is about 1,800 dunums located in Parcel 8.

 

The confiscated lands were from the locations of Salman Al Farisi, Al Marj, Jabal Al Nada and Khalil Salameh Al Muhr.    The number of Israeli colonists in the colony has grown over the years; in 1983 there were 64 colonists while in 1998 the number grew to 291. In 2004 around 534 colonists lived there. Around 90% of them are from the Israeli extreme right.