Uprooting and Vandalizing Olive Saplings in the town of Bruqin / Salfit Governorate
- Violation: Uprooting and vandalizing 60 olive saplings
- Location: Bruqin town, Salfit governorate
- date: February 17th
- Perpetrators: Settlers from Brokhin settlement .
- Victims: the farmers of the town.
Description:
The Israeli occupation continues to target the olive tree, a symbol of resilience in the face of the plans of the Israeli occupation, the objective of these assaults against olive trees is to change the character of the region by seizing vast areas of land.
As a continuation of this expansionist policy, the settlers of Brokhin colony uprooted and damaged 60 olive saplings owned by farmers Ghaleb Ahmed Sheikh Omar, 42 saplings, and Mahmoud Muhammad Atta Sheikh Omar, 18 saplings, from the town of Bruqin, west of Salfit.
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Citizen Ghaleb Omar said in an interview with LRC’s field researcher:
“After five years of care, effort and fatigue, the settlers’ gangs uprooted 42 olive saplings from my land located in the Khirbet Jalal al-Din area, northeast of the town, close to the Al Ras area in Salfit, and to the industrial settlement of Ariel which was built on the village land. I have been working on reclaiming my land since five years whose total area is 14 dunums. I spend most of my time in it. I have planted 300 olive saplings in it, and I treat it as if it were one of my sons, and in the blink of an eye, part of the saplings was uprooted by the racist settlers. Despite this aggression I will re-cultivate it and will not abandon it , no matter what the cost.”
It is noteworthy that the town of Bruqin has been witnessing for a long period of time a brutal attacks by settlers, specifically on the western side of the town, where is located the “Brukhin” settlement, which ever since its establishment has contributed to a large extent in the Judaization of the area and in changing its natural landscape for the benefit of the Israeli settlement. Over the past years, the occupation carried out dozens of at the hands of settlers’ gangs causing havoc and chaos in the region as a whole.
Bruqin village:
The village of Bruqin is located 10 km from the western side of the city of Salfit and it is bordered by Haris, and on its lands was established the Industrial Zone affiliated to “Ariel” settlement. Its population is 4,174 people according to the 2014 census.Its total area is 12,285 dunums, of which 704 dunums are a built-up area.
The occupation confiscated an area of (3,385) dunams of its lands, for the following purposes:
– 3,334 dunums of the village’s lands for Israeli settlement construction;
– 503 dunums for the building of the Expansion and Annexation Wall;
– 785 dunums for the construction of the 7,855 m long Wall path, in addition to annexing 5,159 dunums behind it.
Classification of village land according to the Oslo Agreement:
- Area Classified as A (1,000 dunums).
- Area classified as B (4,376 dunums).
- Area classified as C (6,905 dunums).
