Violation: Chopping down & damaging 206 olive saplings
Location: Turmus'ayya- Ramallah governorate
Date: 11/02/2014
Perpetrators: Colonists of Ado Ad
Victims: Fayiz Hijaz
Details:
"I would rather be killed than to see my trees in that way"… With these words, Fayiz Hijaz (71) expressed his agony at the sight of his seedlings which had been cultivated only a week before they were destroyed mercilessly by colonists of Adi Ad. The colonists used sharp tools to chop down the trees that are two years old. On Tuesday, the 11th of March 2014, a group of extreme Adi Ad colonists broke into the groves of As Sidr, north of Turmus'ayya where they took advantage of the darkness to commit their crime. They cut down 206 olive seedlings using sharp tools. The seedlings were donated by the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry and were then stolen by colonists under the guard of the Israeli occupation army.
Muhammad 'Azma (68), an activist and farmer, told an LRC observer that: "Since 1993 and up to date, the Israeli occupation has been targeting Turmus'ayya, especially the northern parts of it. Every year, colonists renew their attacks of uprooting & chopping down trees & saplings. During the past five years alone, 15 attacks on trees in As Sidr were recorded." The olive tree stands for Palestinians' existence, that is why it is always attacked by colonists. Attacks vary from cutting down olive trees to setting fire to graves .
Prepared by The Land Research Center
LRC
