Violation: cutting down 40 olive trees.
Location: Al Karmel al Gharbi – Western Qaryut
Date: March 10, 2012.
Victims: 8 Palestinian families.
Details:
The olive tree is considered as a symbol of the Palestinian struggle and connection to their lands. At the same time, it is the source of income for hundreds of Palestinian families. This has given the motive for the Israeli colonists and Army to target this tree and damage the olive groves in any possible way.
Qaryut lost more than 70 % of its lands to colonization activities; also, it is one of the villagers suffering most because of the Israeli attacks which are fully supported by the Israeli Government and Army.
On March 10, 2012, after receiving a permit to access Al Karmel area, farmers were shocked to see their trees cut. Forty 50-year-old trees were cut down using saws and the perpetrators, colonists of Eli, signed underneath. Al Karmel area is a closed military zone and, supposedly, no one is allowed in. Table 1: damages:
|
No.
|
Victim
|
Family members
|
Damaged trees
|
location
|
|
1
|
Mahmoud abu Najm
|
7 | 7 |
Al Karmel al Gharbi
|
|
2
|
Hamad Laboum
|
6 | 4 |
Al Karmel al Gharbi
|
|
3
|
Mahmoud Abdul hameed
|
8 | 11 |
Al Karmel al Gharbi
|
|
4
|
Mahmoud Falah
|
9 | 6 |
Al Karmel al Gharbi
|
|
5
|
Abdul Ghani Laboum
|
8 | 5 |
Al Karmel al Gharbi
|
|
6
|
Ahed Khalil
|
6 | 3 |
Al Karmel al Gharbi
|
|
7
|
Hisham Jaber
|
9 | 2 |
Al Karmel al Gharbi
|
|
8
|
Abdul Nase Badawi
|
6 | 2 |
Al Karmel al Gharbi
|
|
|
|
59 | 40 |
|
It is located 20 km to the south east of Nablus city; a 4.5 km road connects the village to Nablus-Jerusalem road, the road has been closed by the Israeli Occupation Authorities since 2000. Its total area is about 8471 dunum, 366 dunums of residential areas. Around 2500 people live in the village. The Israeli Occupation Authorities expropriated about 5000 dunums for the expansion of the following colonies:
-
Shilo: established in 1978; its share of Qaryut lands was about 779 dunums and the residential area of the settlement is about 1347.
-
Eli: established in 1984. It is now only 150 meters away from the village residences.
-
Rahel: established in 1991 in the south eastern part of the village nearby Shilo
In addition to the three major colonies; a number of colonial outpost exist in the area; these outposts bloomed after the beginning of the second Intifada in 2000; these include Heuvil, Adi Ad, and Yeshokdash.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
The Land Research Center
LRC
