10 nov 2019
Israeli occupation forces prevented Palestinians from harvesting their olive crops in the village of Sebastia, northwest of Nablus, WAFA reported.
Mayor of Sebastia, Mohammed Azem, said Israeli forces kicked farmers out of their land under the pretext of lacking prior coordination, despite the fact that their lands are located beyond the fence that surrounds the illegal Israeli settlement of Shafi Shomron.
Azem further stated that farmers were shocked to find pig carcasses on the property, and the land flooded with sewage, acts attributed to the illegal settlers from the nearby settlement.
Mayor of Sebastia, Mohammed Azem, said Israeli forces kicked farmers out of their land under the pretext of lacking prior coordination, despite the fact that their lands are located beyond the fence that surrounds the illegal Israeli settlement of Shafi Shomron.
Azem further stated that farmers were shocked to find pig carcasses on the property, and the land flooded with sewage, acts attributed to the illegal settlers from the nearby settlement.
4 nov 2019
Illegal Israeli settlers today stole the olive harvest of Palestinian farmers in the village of Qaryout, south of the West Bank city of Nablus.
Local sources said that a number of Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the encroaching nearby illegal settlement of Eli, but they were completely shocked to find out that Israeli settlers had stole their harvest and placed iron barriers to obstruct the access of Palestinian vehicles to the land.
Meanwhile, settlers flooded sewage into groves belonging to Palestinian farmers in the village of Al-Jab'a, west of Bethlehem.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la confirmed that settlers from the illegal settlement of Bat Ayin discharged their sewage on five dunams planted with olive trees in Wadi al-Khanzir area.
The owner of the olive grove was identified as the sons of Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Luha.
Every year, without fail, much of the olive harvest is characterized by attacks on Palestinian farmers and families by Israeli settlers and armed soldiers.
Over the past two weeks, the West Bank witnessed a wave of settler attacks and agricultural terrorism as Palestinian farmers began the year’s olive harvest. Attacks were mainly in northern villages near Nablus and Salfit, governorates with the largest concentration of illegal Israeli settlements.
Settlers attacked olive harvesters in Burin, a village south of Nablus, on 12 October, the same day as a 55-year-old Palestinian farmer was attacked by settlers in the nearby village of Tel. Two days prior, settlers stole olives from trees belonging to farmers also in the same area.
Armed settlers attacked farmers in the village Shufa, near the city Tulkarem in the north, who threatened to shoot farmers if they did not leave their land.’
The most devastating attack occurred on the morning of 16 October when more than 30 masked armed settlers charged at Palestinian farmers and foreign volunteers in Burin, attacking three internationals and seriously injuring one, including 80-year-old Rabbi Moshe Yehuda from the Rabbis for Human Rights organization.
With more than 12 million olive trees planted across 45% of the West Bank’s agricultural land, the olive harvest constitutes one of the biggest sources of economic sustainability for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to UN OCHA, the olive oil industry supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 families and accounts for a quarter of the gross agricultural income of the occupied territories.
But, as local NGO MIFTAH notes, “olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians. They are not just like any other trees, they are symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.”
“Because the trees are drought-resistant and grow under poor soil conditions, they represent Palestinian resistance and resilience. The fact that olive trees live and bear fruit for thousands of years is parallel to Palestinian history and continuity on the land.”
Local sources said that a number of Palestinian farmers entered their olive groves adjacent to the encroaching nearby illegal settlement of Eli, but they were completely shocked to find out that Israeli settlers had stole their harvest and placed iron barriers to obstruct the access of Palestinian vehicles to the land.
Meanwhile, settlers flooded sewage into groves belonging to Palestinian farmers in the village of Al-Jab'a, west of Bethlehem.
Mayor of Al-Jab'a Dhyab Masha'la confirmed that settlers from the illegal settlement of Bat Ayin discharged their sewage on five dunams planted with olive trees in Wadi al-Khanzir area.
The owner of the olive grove was identified as the sons of Mohammad Ibrahim Abu Luha.
Every year, without fail, much of the olive harvest is characterized by attacks on Palestinian farmers and families by Israeli settlers and armed soldiers.
Over the past two weeks, the West Bank witnessed a wave of settler attacks and agricultural terrorism as Palestinian farmers began the year’s olive harvest. Attacks were mainly in northern villages near Nablus and Salfit, governorates with the largest concentration of illegal Israeli settlements.
Settlers attacked olive harvesters in Burin, a village south of Nablus, on 12 October, the same day as a 55-year-old Palestinian farmer was attacked by settlers in the nearby village of Tel. Two days prior, settlers stole olives from trees belonging to farmers also in the same area.
Armed settlers attacked farmers in the village Shufa, near the city Tulkarem in the north, who threatened to shoot farmers if they did not leave their land.’
The most devastating attack occurred on the morning of 16 October when more than 30 masked armed settlers charged at Palestinian farmers and foreign volunteers in Burin, attacking three internationals and seriously injuring one, including 80-year-old Rabbi Moshe Yehuda from the Rabbis for Human Rights organization.
With more than 12 million olive trees planted across 45% of the West Bank’s agricultural land, the olive harvest constitutes one of the biggest sources of economic sustainability for thousands of Palestinian families.
According to UN OCHA, the olive oil industry supports the livelihoods of more than 100,000 families and accounts for a quarter of the gross agricultural income of the occupied territories.
But, as local NGO MIFTAH notes, “olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians. They are not just like any other trees, they are symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.”
“Because the trees are drought-resistant and grow under poor soil conditions, they represent Palestinian resistance and resilience. The fact that olive trees live and bear fruit for thousands of years is parallel to Palestinian history and continuity on the land.”
2 nov 2019
The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights In The Occupied Territories (B’Tselem): Israel to establish waste-to-energy plant in settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, unlawfully exploiting Palestinian territory for its own needs In October 2019, the Israeli government issued a tender for the establishment of its first waste-to-energy plant, at an estimated cost of 1 billion NIS (about 284 million USD).
While this may seem an ecologically positive development, the plant is set to be built within the West Bank, despite the prohibition in international law on exploiting resources in an occupied territory for the benefit of the occupying power. If established, the plant will be built without taking the Palestinian population of the West Bank and its views on the matter into account.
The site for the plant lies between East Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, some 700 meters east of the Mishor Adumim industrial park near the Good Samaritan site and within the municipal jurisdiction of the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Israel expropriated this land back in 1975.
Like all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Ma’ale Adumim is illegal under international law. Several hundred meters away from the site there are small, isolated Palestinian shepherd communities. The project is the initiative of the Ma’ale Adummim Planning and Development Corporation. Settlement mayor Benny Kashriel argues that it will serve “major parts of Israel” and should, therefore, become “a national project”. Indeed, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has included the facility in its 2030 strategic plan [pdf] for the treatment of urban waste.
The plant is set to open in 2025 and to serve Israeli authorities within the metropolitan area of Jerusalem. It is expected to reduce the transfer of waste to landfills – the most common form of waste treatment in Israel and in the West Bank – as well as increase waste recycling by 2.5 and transform some 25% into energy.
According to the plans, the plant will span some five hectares and treat enormous quantities ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 tons of waste a day – including domestic waste, electronic waste and polluted soil. It will contain a sorting facility that can process about 2,000 tons a day. Waste that is found unsuitable for incineration will be sent on to recycling or to a landfill.
According to the Ma’ale Adumim municipality, the plant will service local authorities that consist of some 1 million people, including Palestinian authorities, within a 40-km range. The specific authorities have not yet been named, other than the city of Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
In 2019, Israel and the EU signed an agreement [pdf] as part of the EU’s twinning instrument, which establishes cooperation with the EU’s neighboring countries, guaranteeing Israel approximately 1.5 million euros over the next two years to support the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s implementation of its 2030 strategic plan. In the agreement, Israel committed to creating a legal framework that adopts European practices and standardization for sustainable waste treatment.
As in every agreement between the EU and Israel, it contains a territorial clause , that stipulates that it will not apply beyond Israel’s 1967 borders. Yet the EU’s support for the ministry’s strategic plan – which defines the establishment of the plant at Ma’ale Adumim as a goal and presents the exploitation of West Bank land to resolve environmental problems as a matter of course – empties this annex of meaning.
By supporting this plan, the EU will be supplying Israel with knowledge and experience that will help deepen its exploitation of Palestinian land resources and bolster the economic status of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement.
For many years, Israel has been taking advantage of its power as occupier to transfer the treatment of waste (including hazardous waste) and sewage from its sovereign territory to the West Bank. To that end, it has created a situation in which environmental legislation in the West Bank is much laxer than inside Israel, conveniently overlooking the long-term impact of environmental hazards on the Palestinian population and on natural resources, and neglecting to prepare future rehabilitation plans.
This has created a financial incentive to transfer the treatment of environmental hazards from Israel to the West Bank. The Palestinians who live in the occupied territory are the ones to pay the price for this environmental damage, even though they were never asked their opinion on the matter and although, as a population under occupation, they have no political power and no real ability to resist.
While this may seem an ecologically positive development, the plant is set to be built within the West Bank, despite the prohibition in international law on exploiting resources in an occupied territory for the benefit of the occupying power. If established, the plant will be built without taking the Palestinian population of the West Bank and its views on the matter into account.
The site for the plant lies between East Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, some 700 meters east of the Mishor Adumim industrial park near the Good Samaritan site and within the municipal jurisdiction of the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Israel expropriated this land back in 1975.
Like all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Ma’ale Adumim is illegal under international law. Several hundred meters away from the site there are small, isolated Palestinian shepherd communities. The project is the initiative of the Ma’ale Adummim Planning and Development Corporation. Settlement mayor Benny Kashriel argues that it will serve “major parts of Israel” and should, therefore, become “a national project”. Indeed, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has included the facility in its 2030 strategic plan [pdf] for the treatment of urban waste.
The plant is set to open in 2025 and to serve Israeli authorities within the metropolitan area of Jerusalem. It is expected to reduce the transfer of waste to landfills – the most common form of waste treatment in Israel and in the West Bank – as well as increase waste recycling by 2.5 and transform some 25% into energy.
According to the plans, the plant will span some five hectares and treat enormous quantities ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 tons of waste a day – including domestic waste, electronic waste and polluted soil. It will contain a sorting facility that can process about 2,000 tons a day. Waste that is found unsuitable for incineration will be sent on to recycling or to a landfill.
According to the Ma’ale Adumim municipality, the plant will service local authorities that consist of some 1 million people, including Palestinian authorities, within a 40-km range. The specific authorities have not yet been named, other than the city of Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
In 2019, Israel and the EU signed an agreement [pdf] as part of the EU’s twinning instrument, which establishes cooperation with the EU’s neighboring countries, guaranteeing Israel approximately 1.5 million euros over the next two years to support the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s implementation of its 2030 strategic plan. In the agreement, Israel committed to creating a legal framework that adopts European practices and standardization for sustainable waste treatment.
As in every agreement between the EU and Israel, it contains a territorial clause , that stipulates that it will not apply beyond Israel’s 1967 borders. Yet the EU’s support for the ministry’s strategic plan – which defines the establishment of the plant at Ma’ale Adumim as a goal and presents the exploitation of West Bank land to resolve environmental problems as a matter of course – empties this annex of meaning.
By supporting this plan, the EU will be supplying Israel with knowledge and experience that will help deepen its exploitation of Palestinian land resources and bolster the economic status of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement.
For many years, Israel has been taking advantage of its power as occupier to transfer the treatment of waste (including hazardous waste) and sewage from its sovereign territory to the West Bank. To that end, it has created a situation in which environmental legislation in the West Bank is much laxer than inside Israel, conveniently overlooking the long-term impact of environmental hazards on the Palestinian population and on natural resources, and neglecting to prepare future rehabilitation plans.
This has created a financial incentive to transfer the treatment of environmental hazards from Israel to the West Bank. The Palestinians who live in the occupied territory are the ones to pay the price for this environmental damage, even though they were never asked their opinion on the matter and although, as a population under occupation, they have no political power and no real ability to resist.
10 oct 2019
Grant contracts for six grassroots human security projects (GGP) were signed today by Masayuki Magoshi, Ambassador for the Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to Palestine, and the representatives of Joint Service Council for Solid Waste Management - North and North West of Jerusalem, Agricultural Society for the Wall Affected, Palestinian Youth Union/ PYU, Jericho Women Charitable Society, Beit Sahour Cooperative Society, and Gruppo di Volontariato Civile at the Representative Office of Japan to Palestine in Ramallah for a total amount of $534,410.
Joint Service Council for Solid Waste Management will use a fund of $90,180 for the installation of 540 waste containers. This project aims at improving the solid waste management and ensuring safe environment and public health for 16 communities in north and northwest Jerusalem.
The Agricultural Society for the Wall Affected will use a fund of $90,000 for installing solar panel system in Alwalaydeh Bedouin community. This project aims at improving the access to electricity, so that farmers will be able to use the electricity in producing dairy products as a source of income.
Palestinian Youth Union/ PYU will use a fund of $89,971 for the installation and the rehabilitation of 11 schools for students with disabilities. The construction under this project will provide 16 wheel chair slopes, 113 toilets (7 multipurpose toilets), and 7 water drinking places.
Jericho Women Charitable Society will use a fund of $90,279 for installing solar panel system at the society school with the aim of providing sufficient power for the operation of air conditioning systems in the classrooms as well as improving the educational environments for the students in the Jericho Women Charitable Society.
Beit Sahour Cooperative Society for Health Welfare will use a fund of $89,500 for providing the hospital with Endoscopy unit. It aims at improving the medical services of the Shepherd’s Field Hospital, so it will no longer refer patients to other medical centers.
Gruppo di Volontariato Civile will use a fund of $84,480 to improve the access to water resources in three areas located in Tubas and Qalqilya governorates. This will be achieved through the construction and the rehabilitation of 15 water cisterns in Khirbet Yarza and Al Aqaba in Tubas Governorate as well as the extension of 1.2 km main irrigation pipeline and the installation of five water tanks in Azzoun in Qalqilya Governorate.
Magoshi congratulated the recipients of the grants and wished them success in their projects. He emphasized Japan’s firm commitment of supporting Palestinian people from human security perspective as well as the importance of implementing social and economic development projects needed for Palestinian communities.
Since 1993 the Government of Japan has extended its official development assistance amounting to approximately $1.9 billion to the Palestinians. GGP projects have been formulated in collaboration with the Palestinian Authority through Ministry of Finance and Planning since 2010.
Joint Service Council for Solid Waste Management will use a fund of $90,180 for the installation of 540 waste containers. This project aims at improving the solid waste management and ensuring safe environment and public health for 16 communities in north and northwest Jerusalem.
The Agricultural Society for the Wall Affected will use a fund of $90,000 for installing solar panel system in Alwalaydeh Bedouin community. This project aims at improving the access to electricity, so that farmers will be able to use the electricity in producing dairy products as a source of income.
Palestinian Youth Union/ PYU will use a fund of $89,971 for the installation and the rehabilitation of 11 schools for students with disabilities. The construction under this project will provide 16 wheel chair slopes, 113 toilets (7 multipurpose toilets), and 7 water drinking places.
Jericho Women Charitable Society will use a fund of $90,279 for installing solar panel system at the society school with the aim of providing sufficient power for the operation of air conditioning systems in the classrooms as well as improving the educational environments for the students in the Jericho Women Charitable Society.
Beit Sahour Cooperative Society for Health Welfare will use a fund of $89,500 for providing the hospital with Endoscopy unit. It aims at improving the medical services of the Shepherd’s Field Hospital, so it will no longer refer patients to other medical centers.
Gruppo di Volontariato Civile will use a fund of $84,480 to improve the access to water resources in three areas located in Tubas and Qalqilya governorates. This will be achieved through the construction and the rehabilitation of 15 water cisterns in Khirbet Yarza and Al Aqaba in Tubas Governorate as well as the extension of 1.2 km main irrigation pipeline and the installation of five water tanks in Azzoun in Qalqilya Governorate.
Magoshi congratulated the recipients of the grants and wished them success in their projects. He emphasized Japan’s firm commitment of supporting Palestinian people from human security perspective as well as the importance of implementing social and economic development projects needed for Palestinian communities.
Since 1993 the Government of Japan has extended its official development assistance amounting to approximately $1.9 billion to the Palestinians. GGP projects have been formulated in collaboration with the Palestinian Authority through Ministry of Finance and Planning since 2010.
9 oct 2019
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) intends to turn a vast tract of Palestinian land in the Khan al-Ahmar area between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea into a garbage dump.
The IOA also plans to establish a waste recycling plant in the same area, according to Jerusalem affairs researcher Fakhri Abu Diyab.
Abu Diyab affirmed that the IOA plans to seize 900 of dunums of Palestinian land and expel Palestinian residents from the area in order to establish the dump and the recycling facility.
He warned that such Israeli project would have negative impacts on the environment and the health of the native population in the area.
He pointed out that about 250 to 300 trucks would unload about 3,500 tons of waste every day in the area.
The researcher said he obtained such information from Israeli plans in Area C of the West Bank as well as from environmental institutions and some leftist political figures.
The IOA also plans to establish a waste recycling plant in the same area, according to Jerusalem affairs researcher Fakhri Abu Diyab.
Abu Diyab affirmed that the IOA plans to seize 900 of dunums of Palestinian land and expel Palestinian residents from the area in order to establish the dump and the recycling facility.
He warned that such Israeli project would have negative impacts on the environment and the health of the native population in the area.
He pointed out that about 250 to 300 trucks would unload about 3,500 tons of waste every day in the area.
The researcher said he obtained such information from Israeli plans in Area C of the West Bank as well as from environmental institutions and some leftist political figures.
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