Violation: setting fire in 120 dunums of agricultural lands.
Location: Safa town- Ramallah governorate.
Date: June 28 -2018.
Perpetrator: The Israeli occupation army.
Victims: 14 families in the town.
Description:
Fanatic settlers took advantage of the fact that Palestinian owners cannot reach their behind the apartheid wall, and set fire that reached 120 dunums of agricultural lands.
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Photos 1-5: setting fire on agricultural lands.
Photo 6: “Kiryat sefer” settlement.
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Photo 7-10:a view of the lands after the fire.
Head of Safa rural council Ahmad Salama told LRC observer:
“ Thursday afternoon , I received a phone call from one of the farmers telling me that the town’s land behind the apartheid wall are on fire, I immediately called the Palestinian cooperation office who called the Israeli side. After coordination, I could reach the location with some of the affected farmers at 2:00 pm, Israeli troops were there along with 3 Israeli fire- fighting vehicles.
The Israeli occupation army prohibited Palestinian fire-fighting vehicles from reaching the place , the fire was expanding eating more Palestinian lands and heading towards Israeli settlements in the other side.
As expected, The Israeli fire fighting vehicles were focusing on killing the fire heading towards their settlements, and leaving Palestinian farmer’s lands being eaten by the fire.
After 3 hours Israeli troops only let one Palestinian fire-fighting vehicle to enter the location, they managed to stop the fire at 7:300 pm.”
According to the rural council, the fire ate 400 olive trees (aging 25) in natural blocks 4+5 , and belong to “ Hussin Jodeh , Mohammad Jodeh, Yacub Falma, Abdul Aziz Tah, Mohammad Hussin , Amin Falma, Abdul Rahman Falma, Jameel Baja’a, Zaki Karajeh, Issa Nasr, Ali Mansor, Yacub Mansor and Ateieh Mansoor”
Noteworthy, the apartheid wall isolated 3000 dunums now subjected by Israeli colonial expansion and Judaization.
The apartheid wall is about 1200 meters, punctuated by 1 gate, only opened in olive harvesting seasons for 1 week, settlers take advantage of the fact that farmers cannot reach their lands to sabotage and destroy the crops.
In 2008 settlers torched 340 olive trees, in 2017 they torched 400 olive trees, and now 120 dunums were eaten by the fire. (source: Safa rural council)
Safa in lines:
About 18 kilometers north west Ramallah, Safa has an area of 11,000 dunums , 3,000 of them are under colonial Israeli control , the town has a built up area of 794 dunums.
Safa has a population of 4350 dunums in 2017 census.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
