Tuwani is a small Palestinian village south of Yatta, very near the Maon settlement. At 8am this morning a group of settlers carrying weapons came into the village and approached the house of Juma’a Nuwajah. They surrounded the house, shouted at Juma’a and his family, pointed their M16s at them, and threatened to occupy the house. Juma’a’s younger brother went out of the house to speak to the settlers and they hit him. The settlers called the army and a jeep arrived almost immediately and the soldiers began to yell at the Palestinians, ignoring the fact that the settlers had created the problem. More Palestinians arrived from the village, and more Israeli soldiers arrived, as well as Palestinians and internationals … Continue reading

Al-Jaba’a will be the focus of our Olive Harvest activities beginning this week!

The road between the village of Al-Jaba’a and the town of Surif has been closed by the Israeli occupation forces for four years now. This road connects the two areas and its closure makes it very difficult for residents to travel in the area. The Palestine Solidarity Project, in cooperation with Al-Jaba’a residents, succeeded in opening the road by removing the roadblocks, in spite of the violence of the Israeli soldiers against Palestinians, internationals, and members of the Israeli activist group Ta’ayush. The Israeli government considers Al-Jaba’a a “closed area” and will soon begin building the Apartheid Wall around the village, so that there will be one … Continue reading

This month, PSP will begin it’s olive harvest in the Betlehem and Hebron regions. We will focus on the village of Al-Jab’a who will attempt to plow land close to the settlement of Beit ‘Ain, the residents of which have terrorized the people of Al-Jab’a for years (please see previous reports from Jab’a). This land has not been plowed for over 7 years and belongs to five families. The last time the farmers attempted to plow this land, the settlers attacked them and set fire to their tractors. Therefore, PSP is COLLECTING MONEY to rent two tractors to work this land. International and Israeli activists will join with the PSP committee and the people of … Continue reading

Today, Nov. 1, PSP went to the village of Surif to visit their olive oil production factory. We intended to write a report about the olive oil process from the tree to the bottle. Instead, we found ourselves writing a report on the devestating impact of settlements on the economic survival of Palestinian farmers and business owners.

Factory owner, Mohammed Barathea, says that business in Surif used to be very busy, but now with the constant presence of soldiers and the completion of the Apartheid Wall which resulted in the annexation of more land after land had already been confisgated for settlement expansion, business is slow. Many Palestinian farmers have been cut off from their agricultural land … Continue reading

Today, October 21, soldiers and settlers from Susiya settlement came with army- issued bulldozers and proceeded to destroy 150 Dunums (1 Dunum=1/4 acre) of olive groves belonging to the Palestinians. The groves belong to the families of Ashmasti, Abu Sopea and Asha Bin who live in Susiya bedouin camp. The families had planned to harvest these olives at the end of Ramadan, when they would be finished fasting and have more energy to work. Because of the economic crisis throughout Palestine, and the particularly difficult situation for small farming communities in this area which is the beginning of the Negev desert, the demolition of this land will have unbelievably devastating consequences for the people of Susiya, and their ability to … Continue reading

September 20, 2006, in the village of Beit Ommar, activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project visited the farmland of Abu Jaber and his brother Abu Sameer. This is the third time that activists with the Project met with the farmers to document damage done to their land by nearby Israeli colonial settlers.

Three months ago, activists with the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP) began meeting with Abu Jaber and Abu Sameer, though attacks on their land have dated back many years. These activists previously visited with the farmers July and August of this year. On September 15 2006, five days prior to PSP’s visit, Abu Jaber and Abu Sameer’s land was once again … Continue reading