A library photo of Palestinian woman farmers harvesting olive grooves

By Samer Khuwayra, IOL Nablus Correspondent

NABLUS , November 23 (IslamOnline.net) - Despite the increasing Israeli aggressions and a separation wall that runs deep into their fertile lands, Palestinian farmers are keen on harvesting olive groves, which they see as a living symbol of their uphill struggle against the occupation.

With the beginning of the olive harvest season, Israeli occupation troops looked set to step up their attacks to prevent poor Palestinian farmers in the West Bank to prevent the farmers from collecting the fruits.

It seems as if it is the season of Israeli troops, who usually run amok at this time of the year, uprooting entire fields and indiscriminately shooting at farmers.

Despite the suffering, Palestinian farmers brave the armed-to-the-teeth Israeli soldiers, play tricks on the occupation troops sometimes, and do everything in their power to reach their groves, which they regard a life-or-death issue.

Harvest Martyrs

Practices of trigger-happy Jewish settlers go far beyond that with some them killing farmers in cold blood.

The most recent incident is the killing of Salman Al-Safdy, 18, who was shot dead on October 26 after his family had been attacked in their olive grove.

“Settlers of neighboring Yitzhar launch consecutive attacks against farmers in their fields,” Mahmoud Al-Saify, from Beit Forik village east of Nablus , told IslamOnline.net.

Saify pointed out that Jewish settlers put on masks to remain unknown to the farmers, who resort to the Israeli litigation though their complaints often fall on deaf ears.

A case in point is an Israeli court ruling allowing the inhabitants of 30 Palestinian villages to harvest olives for only three days to head off bloody quarrels with settlers.

“Since the beginning of this year's harvest season, Israeli settlers have burnt nearly 500 donums of olive groves,” Saify added.

Backbreaking

The West Bank separation wall further constitutes a backbreaking obstacle to the farmers.

Mohammad Al-Antoury, a farmer from Qalqilya, can no longer reach his fields, which were cut off by the barrier.

“And if I manage to sneak in and harvest olives, I run through the obstacle of transporting the yield to olive presses in Qalqilya due to the tight Israeli siege,” he told IOL.

But he, like all farmers, has this fighting spirit that would not give in to the Israeli-imposed hardships.

“We have to wait until the Israeli troops are not there and then start harvesting and carrying away the harvest back to our village then to the presses in neighboring villages. I know it is drudgery but we have no choice.”

Ahmad Zaid and his four brothers from Nazlat Al-Sheikh Zaid, 20 km west of Jenin, have failed to get an Israeli permit so that they can cross the gates of the separation wall.

“We waited for long for the olive season this year, hoping it would help us make a living in view of the towering unemployment rates, but were shocked when denied access to the groves,” said Ahmad.

“Of 14 requests, only four permits were issued. This is really exhausting and make us unable to complete the harvest in due time.”

The UN General Assembly demanded Israel on July 20, to abide by the International Court of Justice's ruling and tear down the wall, but Tel Aviv defiantly pledged to pursue the construction.

Largest Agricultural Plot

The area cultivated with olives in the West Bank amounts to 750 square kilometers, namely 12.5% of the total lands of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Walid Abu Hussein, a researcher at the Palestinian Research Center .

“The western part of the barrier isolates 1,100 square kilometers, representing 20% of the total area of the West Bank ,” he told IOL.

He added that the areas isolated by the separation barrier constitute 22% of the total lands cultivated with olives.

A report of the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry, issued by the end of last week, showed that olive production would decrease this year by 2,200 tons due to the uprooting of thousands of fruitful and long-lived trees.

According to the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry, last year's total production amounted at 53,000 tons, putting at only 30,000 this year’s production.

The Palestinian Farmers Association said that losses of olive oil sector are expected to exceed 500 million shekels in case production is not marketed abroad.

Olive production is a major income source for Palestinian families and used in several key industries. It also represents 20 percent of the Palestinian agricultural production.