This week PSP began its annual farmer accompaniment program. Around dawn, international activists joined Beit Ommar farmers in harvesting grapes on land close to the illegal settlement of Kfar Etzion. In a busy but sucessful morning, volunteers assisted the famrers in picking and packing over fifty crates of grapes, which will be sold through the local farmers’ market.

Such accompaniments are neccessary as Beit Ommar farmers face the constant threat of harassment and violence from setllers and the Israeli military. Settlers regularly attack famrers trying to work in fields close to the five … Continue reading

This morning at around 7.30 am, Beit Ommar farmers Ali Thalji, aged 70, and his son Ahmed, 40, were harassed by a group of Israeli soldiers as they tended to their sheep on fields in Safa, Beit Ommar.

The group of soldiers approached from the direction of the illegal settlement of Bat Ayn, telling Ali and Ahmed that the land they were on – their own fields – had been appropriated by the Israeli State, and repeatedly told them to leave the area.

After approximately half an hour, the soldiers left without any major incidents, but it is a development of great … Continue reading

Settlers from Bat Ayin settlement have attempted to seize more land belonging to the village of Saffa.

This week, it was discovered that settlers had begun construction of a building foundation on the land of local farmer Thelgy Addy. Stones have been piled on top of one another forming what appears to be the bases of walls, and one of the stones was marked with a green symbol. Around the stones, the settlers had posted stakes at a distance of 500 meters.

When this construction was discovered, the stakes were pulled up in order to combat the theft of more land. Settlers will often begin taking over more land by … Continue reading

Two young Palestinian men are in Israeli custody today after the military raided homes this morning in Beit Ommar and Saffa.

At around 2 in the morning, five Israeli military jeeps entered the town of Beit Ommar. Upon entering the town, they fired tear gas and concussion grenades, waking residents and startling them. The jeeps stopped at the home of Fers Abu Maria. Soliders invaded the house, waking the family and forcing everyone into the street. Yelling at the family and questioning them for half an hour, they finally arrested 16 year old Mahmoud Hathym Solieby. The soldiers then moved to Saffa, where they invaded another home and arrested 16 … Continue reading

On the evening of Wednesday, July 8th, a group of farmers attempting to harvest grape leaves in the Saffa region of Beit Ommar were halted by Israeli soldiers. Around thirty farmers were stopped by nine members of the Israeli army, who declared that the area was a closed military zone. The closed military zone paperwork required by Israeli law was never shown.

Members of the Popular Committee, PSP volunteers, and the mayor of Beit Ommar argued with the soldiers for some time, and the farmers continued to gather grape leaves. When the farmers finished their work, all parties left … Continue reading

In the evening hours of Saturday, May 28, Israeli soldiers stopped a group of farmers in the Safa region of Beit Ommar from proceeding to their lands to harvest grape leaves. Four members of the Israeli army detained about twenty Beit Ommar farmers for half an hour, claiming the area was a closed military zone. They showed no paperwork, and finally the farmers moved past them to complete their work. The farmers gathered leaves until their containers were full, and then moved to leave.

The soldiers allowed the women of the group to continue home, but detained the men. Eight men had their identification cards taken, and were made to sit and wait for another group of soldiers to arrive. The … Continue reading

On the morning of Monday, April 11th, volunteers from the Palestine Solidarity Project joined with the National Committee of Beit Ommar to complete planting in the Saffa region of the village. Seven village residents and five internationals met in the fields across from Bat Ayn settlement at 8:00 am. Upon their arrival, they discovered arrival that olive saplings in a field planted on Saturday had been uprooted, presumably by settlers or Israeli military forces.

The farmers and volunteers quickly planted the forty remaining olive trees set aside for the region. Once the new trees were in the ground, the group returned to the previous planting site and … Continue reading

On Saturday, April 9th, around forty Beit Ommar farmers and international solidarity activists planted over 200 olive trees in the Saffa region of Beit Ommar. The planting began around 7:00 am, and was half-finished when Israeli Defense Force soldiers arrived at 8:30. The soldiers said that the area was a Closed Military Zone, but lacked the paperwork legally required to enforce the designation. As the collected farmers and activists continued to plant trees, the soldiers attempted to deter them by kicking dirt into holes and confiscating their tools. A young boy’s jacket was also taken.

Several members of the planting crew began arguing with … Continue reading

On the evening of Friday, April 8th, Israel Defense Forces detained about twenty members of the Aady family of Beit Ommar. The family had planted three olive trees on their land in the Safa Valley (near Bat Ayn settlement) when members of the IDF arrived and informed them that the entire valley was a Closed Military Zone. At 5:30 pm, soldiers forced the planting to end, and refused to allow the family to leave.

The entire Aady family was held in Safa for roughly an hour before more members of the IDF and Civil Administration arrived in two jeeps. The newly arrived military personnel began arguing with the farmers. Several members … Continue reading

Mohammed Abd Alhamid Soleibi has lost land before.

Four years ago, twelve dunams of farmland near Karmei Tsur—land for which he had all the appropriate deeds and documentations of ownership—was surrounded by a fence, essentially annexed by the settlement. This left the seventy-year-old farmer with eighty-eight dunams about a kilometer and a half from the settlement of Bat Ayn in the Saffa Valley. He shares this land with his extended family—in all, around one hundred and fifty people make use of it.

Around eight thirty on the morning of Saturday, April 2nd, Mohammed went out to his remaining land with his brother, sons, and grandson. He and his grandson took a donkey and began plowing one field while the others worked … Continue reading