Violation: Cutting down 25 olive trees
Location: Karm Al-Ateq west of Deir Jarer village/ Ramallah governorate
Date: 11/03/2013
Perpetrators: Colonists of "Oufra"
Victims: An 8-member family
Violation:
On 11/03/2013, colonists of "Oufra" cut down and damaged 25 olive trees estimated to be more than 100 years in Karam Al-Ateq. The trees belong to a farmer named Abul-Wahab Abu-Hashesh who was distressed while looking at the work of his life wasted right in front of his eyes. Colonists used sharp tools in their attack rendering the trees bare and unproductive.
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Pictures 1-7: Scenes of the colonists’ attack
Abu-Hashesh stated to an LRC observer that, "We were raised to plant the land and look after it. But since the establishment of "Oufra" colony in the seventies of the last century, we have been suffering from colonists’ attacks. He also added, "On 12/03/2013, I was shocked to see that a spiteful group of colonists cut down 25 olive trees. They also cut down all the branches so that the trees are rendered unproductive. The harmed trees used to produce 30-40 oil tanks which made my living. Now I lost my source of income to support my 8-member family."
Karam Al-Ateq a target to colonists:
For its closeness to "Oufra" colony, Karam Al-Ateq is under constant attack. In 2007, the Israeli army stopped a project of land reclamation implemented by Agricultural Work Committees and that is financed by the Dutch government and executed by Land Research Centre and Agricultural Relief in cooperation with a group of Palestinian hydrologists. The Israeli pretext was that the targeted lands in the project are considered closed military areas.
"Oufra" in lines:
It was founded in 1975, northeast of Ramallah on lands confiscated from Silwad and Ein Barod villages. The colony has an institute for girls, high school, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, post office, petrol station, public library, cow and chicken farms, electronics company, and a gym. Up to 2005, its colonists were 2300.
