Various Israeli measures and policies have direct and
indirect impacts on the area of farmed land and on
agricultural production and marketing. Beit Sourik,
northwest Jerusalem, is a good standing example; over a
passage of years this village witnessed a grave
deterioration in the land area of nearly 12,000 dunums (both
built and farmed land). Presently, the remaining area for
cultivation is approximately 3,500 dunums. Beit Hanina and
Ejdairah villages, which are known for their plains that
comprised 20% of the farmed land in the Jerusalem
governorate, are isolated by the Wall. Thus, farmers cannot
find access in and out for the agricultural products and
inputs.
Due to
the fact that most Jewish settlements are now situated
between the Green Line and the Wall, they are expanding at
the account of the Palestinians’ area land and livelihoods.
55,000 Palestinians resident in the municipal area of
East Jerusalem have been transferred to the West Bank by the
construction of the wall and thus Palestinian contiguity in
Jerusalem is being destroyed by the Jewish settlements,
house demolitions and the wall.
With
the completion of the fifth phase of the Wall erection, a
number of villages and suburbs will be either “enclaved” or
completely isolated from their entire surroundings such as
Ar-Ram, Dahiyet Al-Bareed, Az- Z’ayyem, and Hizma.
Furthermore, some neighborhoods which locate in the
Jerusalem municipal borders will be isolated from the city
such as Shu’fat Refugee Camp, Ras Khamis and Dahiyet As
Salam.
More than 70,000 Palestinians and 81,317 dunums will be
trapped outside the Wall.
The Wall has an adversely effect on agriculture; it directly
confiscated tens of thousands of dunums that were being
cultivated and land that would be reclaimed to become fit
for farming.
Moreover, the fact that in some population gatherings
farmers will be separated from their agricultural lands by
the wall, they will not be able to access to their lands
without official permits, which are constantly issued at the
mercy of the Israeli occupation authorities who on many
occasions turn them down. On the long run, these farms will
be confiscated by Israel being a neglected and unused land.
Thus, more and more rural people will lose their source of
income and become poor.
This
is added to other problems that the population of Jerusalem
suffer from; dumping of Israeli settlement dirt and sewage
water in Palestinian villages and neighborhoods resulting in
pollution of underground water and crops extinction, housing
density and lack of construction permits as well as constant
neglect of the entire infrastructures and services such as
roads, water, sewage systems, schools and clinics which
totally ignored the needs of growth, survival and continued
existence of the Palestinians in annexed Jerusalem.
Historically, Palestinian farmers from Jerusalem and the
surrounding adjacent villages depended on the city centre
for selling their products and purchasing their own needs of
agricultural inputs and equipment in addition to obtaining
basic services such as health and education. Interviewed
farmers from villages of Jerusalem governorate indicated
that they never depended on other cities like Ramallah or
Bethlehem for the up-mentioned purposes. Yet, they have
experienced intense systematic Israeli harassment and
restrictions especially women farmers who used to bring
their products to Jerusalem; personnel from the Israeli
Municipality of Jerusalem with the assistance of the police
forces have frequently waged raids against vegetables and
fruits peddlers. Agricultural products are either destroyed
before the eyes of the farmers or confiscated, and in many
cases farmers are charged with high fines.
Though
the Municipality of Jerusalem designated an area close to
Damascus gate for Palestinian peddlers in late nineties, it
soon dismantled the marketplace for road construction
purposes as part of its plan for further control of the
city. Not to mention the two old retailer greengrocer
marketplaces (bazaars) in the old town of Jerusalem, in
which many Palestinian farmers used to sell their fresh
vegetables and fruits. Yet, one of them was closed down and
the other was turned to a souvenir market due to the
systematic Israeli restrictions and harassment.
The
huge agricultural wholesale marketplace located in Wad El
Joze (Nr. Rockefeller museum) in East Jerusalem was a target
of the Israeli discrimination policy. According to the
amended law of 1950 in the Knesset on 28 June 1967, Israel
used all measures to extend illegally its jurisdiction to
East Jerusalem and maintain its exclusive control. Israel
did all its best to undermine the Palestinian agriculture
and keep a tight rein on the main wholesale market by
inhibiting the flow of Palestinian agricultural products
from nearby villages and the West Bank to the market.
Personnel of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and from
the Customs Department often raided the market or stopped
loaded vans and confiscated crops at checkpoints or at
roadblocks. The aim was to maintain one powerful wholesale
market in the so-called united Jerusalem by destroying the
Palestinian market, which was the lung from which
Palestinian farmers and East Jerusalem citizens breathed.
Moreover, Palestinian greengrocers and supermarkets in East
Jerusalem are not allowed by the force of law to sell
Palestinian agricultural produces, both plant and animal
production. It is considered illegal to sell these products
without a proper license from the Israeli concerned parties.
Frequent raids are presently conducted by the inspectors of
the Israeli Customs Department to Palestinian stores to make
sure that non of the Palestinian agricultural products are
sold there.
On the
other hand, Palestinian animal wealth in Jerusalem
governorate undergoes a grave threat of total destruction
due to the Israeli policies. Pasture land used by the
Palestinian Bedouins has either been confiscated or
announced military closed areas. Arab Al-Jahhalin Bedouins
for example have been deprived of using thousands of dunums
of pastures owned by Abu Deis and ‘Eizariyyeh because of the
erection of the wall. A spokesperson of Arab Al-Jahhalin
reported to the Al-Quds newspaper that at least one hundred
families living in the eastern mountain plains of Jerusalem
have received Israeli forewarnings following the Knesset’s
approval of the wall route between Arab Al Jahhalin and
Ma’aeli Adumim.
Arab Bedouins in ‘Anata village have also suffered from
demolitions and recently the Bedouins who live near the
Israeli military compound “Anatot” received further
notifications of home demolishes.
Due to
the confiscation of grass land, animal breeding costs have
remarkably increased and the ability of cattle breeders to
buy fodders which are normally very expensive lessened. As
a result, the economic feasibility of animal breeding is
deteriorating over a very short passage of time.
In
conclusion, the Israeli continued multifaceted measures have
always aimed at paralyzing the Palestinian economy of
Jerusalem, destroying the Palestinian subsistence
agriculture which is the source of food security, and
transforming the Palestinian market in Jerusalem and
elsewhere in the West Bank to a huge consuming market of
various Israeli products particularly agricultural produce.
As a result of the Israeli practices, both Palestinian
producers and consumers are suffering; the Jerusalemite
consumers are forced to buy plant and animal products of
Israeli companies such as “Tnuva” which are too expensive
for them to obtain due to their severe economic conditions.
Israel’s
measures hinder the work of agriculture related
institutions:
As a
result of the Israeli continued constraints and restrictions
imposed on the Palestinian people, the efforts of the NGOS
as well of the Palestinian Authority have little or no
impact some times on the improvement of people’s livelihoods
or on the alleviating of their distress leading to people’s
more exposure to poverty and vulnerability.
The
Wall, closures, checkpoints and roadblocks disrupted NGOs
from smooth running creating a non-conducive environment for
them to implement their work safely and adequately.
Israel’s practices and policies place the NGOS’ personnel
at grave risk and present obstructions in their functioning.
The
Directorate of Agriculture in Jerusalem
governorate/Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture indicated
that a rather huge area, which used to benefit from the
activities and services of the Directorate is isolated now
and the employees of the Directorate cannot reach it for
example ‘Anata, As- Sawahreh Ash- Sharqiyyeh, Beit Sourik,
Beit Hanina and Ejdairah, etc. According to the documents
of the Directorate, 19 people gatherings and hundreds of
farmers are debilitated. Ten of the gatherings are out of
the reach of the Directorate’s staff.
PARC
branch in Jerusalem explained the impact of the Israeli
closures and harassment against the Palestinian farmers on
the work of its staff and field workers. Access to the
targeted villages is very complicated since the field
workers have to use bypass ways which are normally longer
distances and therefore costly. The level of the staff
performance has been affected by the fact that they have to
do less field visits and spend less time in following up the
work. This coincides with the fact that Palestinian
institutions are demanded to expand their services and
provide more effective interventions to rural people of
Jerusalem such as poverty alleviation and employment
generation scheme.
PARC
branch in Jerusalem reported that their staff has been
subjected to Israeli harassment whilst providing services to
the targeted groups. One of the extension workers for
example was arrested by the Israeli soldiers at the rally
that was organized by the people of northwest villages in
Jerusalem against the erection of the wall.
PARC
contributes to the survival of agriculture in Jerusalem
governorate:
PARC
keeps channeling its services and assistance to villages and
Bedouin communities in Jerusalem governorate through the
women, farmers and youth gatherings, which PARC have helped
to establish. We implemented a number of projects such as
land reclamation and development in which hundreds of dunums
were reclaimed as well as distribution and planting of
thousands of olive seedlings in the courtyards of schools
and institutions located in Jerusalem municipal area.
Furthermore, PARC implemented food for work program in which
construction, restoration and food processing works were
achieved. PARC also performed a number of environment
protection activities and established volunteer committees
for this purpose.
On the
other hand, PARC joined the efforts of the other Palestinian
institutions resisting the Israeli policies. We are a member
of the Coalition for Jerusalem, which has launched a
campaign to highlight the hazards of the Jerusalem Israeli
Municipality town scheme 2000. Presently, the Coalition is
preparing an alternative town plan, which can be compatible
with the international legitimacy and the Palestinian
interests.
PARC
requests support and action in favor of the Jerusalem’ rural
communities from all parties concerned at the national,
regional and international levels. We request the
Palestinian Authority to reallocate and redistribute its
budget in a just manner that can benefit the Palestinian
citizens of Jerusalem and help them to survive in their
town. More projects that target agricultural development are
needed now to confront the constant threat of settlements,
land confiscation and the wall.
According to PASSIA, the Jerusalem Governorate of the PA has
different district boundaries than the Israeli municipal
area of Jerusalem, which includes illegality and
unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem. The total land area of
Jerusalem governorate comprises 319,790 dunums, 117,551 of
which are located within the part that was annexed by Israel
in 1967.
PASSIA,
Facts and figures updates 2004,
http://www.passia.org/index-facts.htm
According to B’Tselem, Israel annexed nearly 70,000 km. of
East Jerusalem and the nearby West Bank villages and
incorporated them within Jerusalem borders. From the annexed
territory Israel confiscated one third i.e. 24,000 dunums-
most of it privately- owned Palestinian property.
B’Tselem, Policy of discrimination in planning, building and
land annexation,
http://www.betselem.org/english/jerusalem.discrimination_policy.asp.
Jerusalem Statistical Year Book No. 6 (updated on: July 10,
2004)
Report of the Special Rapporteur
of the Commission on Human rights on the situation of human
rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel
since 1967, August 2005.
