NABLUS, September 30 (IslamOnline.net) - After waiting for long days and months to reap the fruit of their crops of figs and guava, Palestinian farmers usually live to see their dream turning into a nightmare, as Israeli sweeps seldom draw a line between people and fields.

Forming a main source of income for around 90% of Palestinian citizens in the area, residents of the Tal village, north of the West Bank city of Nablus, start every agricultural season by looking for the best way to market their crops in case any is left after daily Israeli onslaughts.

“Sufferings of the village residents are a daily routine. These days, the 4,000 village residents are waiting for the season of figs which is the main source of income for them,” Abu Adnan, a Palestinian citizen told IslamOnline.net.

He said the Israeli settlements everywhere have turned life of the Palestinian people in the area into hell.

“People's lives have been reduced to one of horror and fear. Trying to go to our fields, encircled from all directions by the Israeli settlements, has become dangerous, not to mention the practices of Israeli settlers against the citizens.”

Continuous Israeli closures of the Palestinian cities aggravate the situation, inflicting more heavy losses on Palestinian farmers by crippling their ability to market the little crops they manage to save.

“Closing the village main road before farmers who try to market the crops leads to heavy financial losses as crops consequently turn sour,” Abu Manzer, another Palestinian farmer said.

“Such losses aggravate with implementation of the Zionist schemes and construction of settlements and military zones on the citizens’ lands. The village has become encircled from all direction either by settlements or military zones.”

Other Palestinian farmers said the Israeli closure and aggressions choke the Palestinian economy, in general, causing prices to fall down.

“The closure had exacerbated our sufferings. We used to sell the figs for 30 shekels but now it is sold for only five shekels,” Moussa Ramadan, a Palestinian fruit shop owner said.

“As we go to our fields, the soldiers appear to block us from reaching our lands and sometimes they destroy the crop we have just harvested," Omar Solwadi, another farmer, weighed in.

The Israeli military barricades and crossing points form another obstacle that adds up to the sufferings of Palestinian farmers on their way to sell the crops.

The sight of dozens of trucks laden with Palestinian crops waiting for the Israeli soldiers to allow them to cross is not an unusual one. Crossing, however, is mostly a dream that seldom comes true.

Palestinian farmers in Al-Mawasi area in Gaza Strip said they failed to sell their crops due to the Israeli closure of the area.

“I found no other option but not to harvest five donums (donum equals 1,000 square meters) planted with guava trees as I failed to sell the small part I have already harvested.”

“The little harvest I have collected was put in the boxes for three days till it turned rotten.”

“Such losses made me unable to pay off wages of workers, hence I decided not to harvest the guava fruits from the trees.”

He added lost of the Palestinian farmers in the area have gone through similar bitter experiences.

“I am not the only farmer victim here. Al-Mawasi area, famous for guava plantation, has been under Israeli closures for a month at the harvest season, so all farmers were inflicted heavy losses.”

With the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada four years ago, Al-Mawasi area, known for its guava production for foreign markets, especially the Arab one, came under strict Israeli siege, causing the destruction of its fruits crops.

“Such losses are due to the Israel systematic destruction policy against farm lands in Al-Mawasi area," Abdul Aziz Okel, director of agriculture department in Khan Younis said.

He said such Israeli measures had caused a serious drop in the fruit production of the area from 6,000 tones to only 3,000 per season.

Okel said around 1,000 donums of guava trees were destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces, of which 3,00 were crouched and 7,00 were dried due to the inability of Palestinian farmers to care for their lands, “thanks to Israeli security measures”.

He warned that such Israeli practices would lead to the destruction of Palestinian agriculture over the coming few years.