Violation: colonists of Halmish cut down 28 olive trees.
Date: July 31, 2012.
Victim: Ashraf Dar Ayyub.
Location: Al Mayaden to the west of An Nabi Saleh village.
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Details:
On July 31, 2012, colonists of Halmish sneaked into the olive groves in An Nabi Saleh village before cutting 29 olive trees using saws. The assailants also set alight 19 other trees. The attack took place under the blessing of the Israeli soldiers who stood there to watch the crime being committed. All the trees were property of Ashraf Dar Ayyub, 47, knowing that the targeted grove is only 400 meters away from Halmish colony.
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Picture 1-4: cut trees, Halmish colony can be seen in the background
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Picture 5-6: torched trees
The locals rushed to scene to try to put the fire down, however, they were stopped by the colonists and the soldiers who shot some rounds towards them. This confirms the opinion that the Israeli state is there to serve colonization and has no intention whatsoever in stopping it. It is worthy to mention that the village suffers from day-to-day aggression by Israeli troops who raid houses, attack people, and cut down trees. At the same time, colonial expansions around the village seem to be unstoppable.
The colony of Halmish:
In October 1977, the Israeli Cabinet agreed upon the establishment of Halmish colony over the ruins of a Jordanian military camp which was abandoned in 1967. A year later, the Israeli Occupation Authorities confiscated 600 dunums of Palestinian lands for that purpose in addition to hundred others that were captured over the years. Halmish area nowadays in 2510 dunums, inhabited by 1100 colonists.
The establishment of Halmish resulted in the loss of over 1000 dunums of agricultural lands which caused drastic damage to agriculture and the economy of An Nabi Saleh.
An Nabi Saleh:
It is located 20 km to the north west of Ramallah; its total area is 2960 dunums inhabited by 1180 people.
