- Violation: cutting and sabotaging 42 olive plants.
- Location: Broqin Town / Salfit Governorate.
- Violation Date: 02/03/2020.
- Perpetrators: settlers from the settlement of “Brokhin”.
- Affected party: Youssef Mahmoud Ali Sabra.
Violation details:
Settlers from “Brokhin” settlement, built on the lands of the towns of Kafr al-Dik and Borqin, west of Salfit, cut and destroyed 42 olive plants at the age of five years from the lands of Broqin town within the area known as “Al-Wadat” which lies directly west of the settlement of “Brokhin” . The targeted site is considered a link between the settlement of “Brokhin” and mount Subh, whose the colonists try to take over completely. For more than 15 years, the Israeli occupation had been imposing strict restrictions to limit agricultural activity and restrict the movement of farmers there.
Photos 1-4: Some olive plants that were cut down by colonialists
The plundered plants are owned by citizen Youssef Mahmoud Ali Sabra, a citizen of the town of Broqin. Speaking to the LRC’s field researcher about the details of this crime, the affected farmer stated the following:
” I own 6 dunums of land in the “Al-Wadat” area, which were previously cultivated with wheat and various grains. With the aim of protecting my land, in early June 2019, I got it rehabilitated and planted with olive plants at the age of five year. In turn, this did not suit the colonists who are planning to seize my land in favor of the expansion scheme of the “Brokhin” colony. On Monday morning, and upon my arrival at the land, I was surprised to find out that the colonists cut down and completely destroyed 42 plants, so I informed the official authorities, including the Palestinian Civil Liaison office, about the matter, and a team of the Palestinian Liaison, accompanied by the Occupation Police, came to the site. The Israeli side, as usual, claimed that the attacker’s identity is unknown and they took no further steps to find him. It is noteworthy that the northern lands in the town of Broqin, adjacent to the settlement of “Brokhin”, are continuously subjected to a series of harassment by the settlers, as there is a declared goal by them to seize the resources of that area. During the past five years, the targeted area witnessed a huge expansion activity”.
Broqin Village:
The village of Broqin is located 10 km from the western side of the city of Salfit. It is bordered from north by the village of Haris and the Israeli Industrial Zone affiliated to Ariel colony. It is bordered form the west by the village of Kafr al-Dik, from the east by the village of Farkha and the town of Salfit, and from the south by the villages of Kafr Ayn, Bani Zayed and Qarawat Bani Zaid.
Its total population is 4,174 people, according to 2014 census. Its total area is 12,285 dunums, of which 706 dunums are a built-up.
The occupation confiscated an area of 3,385 dunums of its lands, as followed:
1- About 3,334 dunums for settlement construction;
2- About 503 dunums for bypass roads;
3- About 785 dunams for the construction of the Expansion and annexation Wall, in addition to 5,159 dunams separated behind it.
Classification of village lands according to the Oslo Agreement:
- Areas classified as A (1,005) dunums.
- Areas classified as B (4,376) donums.
- Areas classified as C (6,905) dunums.
