Violation: damaging around 750 olive seedlings in Ramallah
Location: Singel- Ramallah governorate
Date: 22/01/2014
Perpetrators: Shilo colonists
Victims: Singel municipality
Details:
A group of Shilo colonists accompanied by the army of the Israeli occupation raided the area of al- Rafd, northeast of Singel town; that is 2km away from the town built-up area. It should be marked that colonists sabotaged around 750 seedlings (540 olive and 210 almonds. The plantation project was funded by the International Red Crescent, in the area of al-Rafid. Noteworthy, the seedlings were uprooted and then moved out by colonists’ vehicles.
The targeted area is indicated to be 1.5km away from Shilo colony, which has been exploiting Singel for the favor of its expansion. That is why the area has witnessed too many assaults and violations during the past couple of years by colonists and soldiers of the occupation.
A project funded by the International Red Crescent(IRC) and implemented by Singel municipality for re-planting the area:
In the beginning of 2013, Singel municipality obtained a fund from the IRC to plant the area of al-Rafid with olive and almond seedlings again for the sake of protecting the land from the colonial plans of expansion. The funders of the project agreed on planting 45 dunums threatened of confiscation.
By the beginning of March, Shilo colonists hindered the implementation of the project by attacking farmers and kicking them out of their lands. Meanwhile, the area was declared an inaccessible military security zone.
Photo1: the targeted seedlings and land location
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC