Violation: uprooting 30 olive trees.
Date: July 17, 2012.
Perpetrators: the Israeli Occupation Army.
Victims: Mohammad and Saqir Shihada.
Location: Ukasha parcel – Qusra.
Details:
On July 17, 2012, Israeli troops broke into Ukasha area to the north of Qusra and uprooted 34 olive trees; 23 were property of Mohammad Shihada and the rest were property of Saqir Shihada.
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Picture 1: targeted land
The Israeli officers justified the aggression by claiming that the trees were planted in ‘state property’.
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Picture 2-4: remains of the trees
Saqir Shihada insisted that the lands are their property and the property of their ancestors; he also insisted that they have deeds proving their ownership which cancels the Israeli allegations. He said: ‘we objected to the Israeli Court; however, it ruled in favor of the Army. How wouldn’t it if the judge himself lives in a colony?!‘
Ukasha has been a regular target for the Israeli colonists and Army; most of the residents in the area have received demolition notifications, not to mention the attacks on agriculture and farms.
Qusra:
It is located 18 km to the south east of Nablus city and is administered by Qusra village Council. Its total area is 9878 dunums that include 776 dunums of built up area. However, this area does not cover the expansion requirements of the village which forced a lot of the locals to build their houses in areas classified ‘C’ according to Oslo.
Qusra is inhabited by 4377 people according to the PBS statistics of 2007. It must be pointed that in 1982, Qusra and the nearby Jurish villages faced a large scale land confiscation campaign in preparation for the establishment of Majdulim colony which now covers an area of 170.6 dunums inhabited by 152 colonists.
On the other hand, Qusra is suffering from the increase in demolition orders issued against structures in the village. More than 15 structures are facing real demolition threats. Magdulim colony have been a starting point for several attacks on the Palestinians and their properties. In the summer of 2008, colonists plowed huge areas of Palestinian lands before capturing them, similar aggressions took place several times. Also, numerous attacks on farmers and shepherds were reported throughout the years.
On the other hand, the village is suffering from the increased number of demolition orders issued against structures in the village; so far, 15 structures and the village main road are threatened.
