59. Olive Trees uprooted in Jayyous apparently to make Room for another Settlement
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) stopped the uprooting of olive trees in Jayyous December 9th, but the fear is that the pause will only be temporary and much damage has already been done with 117 trees uprooted. The new activities on lands that belong to the village of Jayyous near Qalqiliya apparently are connected to the expansion of the Zufim settlement.
At 8 a.m. a hydraulic excavator CAT 330B could be seen at the site uprooting olive trees. The orchard stands on a rocky plateau surrounded by a quarry on three sides. The quarry is part of land that was confiscated from the Palestinian community of Jayyous in 1986, mainly to build the settlement of Zufim.
At 1:30 p.m. 56-year-old Tawfiq Salim, one of the farmers owning trees at the site, as well as Israeli settlers and soldiers appeared. Salim's brother Jamil Haj Salim had already been at the site working. When both sides had presented their documents concerning land ownership of the orchard, the IDF soldiers ordered an immediate stop to the uprooting. That finally occurred at 2:15 p.m., by which time one third of the orchard had been uprooted and 10 trees had already been taken away from the site via truck. Salim broke down when he finally saw the orchard and his uprooted trees. A new military decision is expected by Sunday.
Preparations at site with bulldozers have been ongoing for several days. According to the quarry company leader, 700 housing units are going to be built within four years. Apparently, thinking that the Ecumenical Accompanier there is a settler, the company leader offers to sell him some of the olive trees that have been uprooted. The truck driver tells the EA that the trees will be sold in the Tel Aviv area. There have been reports that as many as 1,500 units will be built on the lands. The village of Jayyous had been cut off from most of its lands due to Israel´s construction of its “Separation Wall.†However, the government had insisted that this was a security measure and that the land still belonged to the farmers of Jayyous. The latest developments would seem to call those assurances into extreme doubt.
All of Israel´s settlements are illegal according to international law respecting territory held under occupation. Furthermore, Israel is prohibited from expanding settlements or building new ones under the terms of the “Road Map†put forth last year by the European Union, Russia, the United Nations, and the United States.
On Sunday, December 12th, soldiers from the Israeli Civil Administration for the West Bank arrive at the site with one representative of the settlers to further discuss the development. They order Tawfiq Salim to present a new land survey report in order to prove that he actually owns the land. He is told that an Israeli company is claiming to have bought the land in 2002. Abu Azzam of the Jayyous Land Defense Committee obtains a lawyer for Tawfiq Salim and they all go to the office of the Qalqiliya governor, who offers to pay for the survey.
On Monday, December 13th, the survey begins, with Tawfiq Salim, deperately trying to hold onto his land, helping as best he can. He also picks olives from some of his uprooted trees as a camera crew, filiming a documentary, captures him collapsing from grief on film.
By Tuesday, December 14th, things actually get worse for Tawfiq Salim. He must appear at the Israeli settlement of Qedumim in order to apply for an extension for his six-month permit to access his land. Tawfiq Salim, who needs a permit to get to his own land - land which the state is attempting to confiscate from him - has his application denied because his papers only list his brother as an owner. Tawfiq Salim must also go to Qedumim in order to file for information about the company which says it bought his land.
Christoph Gocke
EA, Germany
Click here for the related article "More Land Grabs possible in Jayyous."
JayyousSettlement02041210
A bulldozer uproots olive trees from land belonging to the village of Jayyous, apparently to make room for another illegal Israeli settlement.
SettlementJayyous04041209
Bulldozers doing their work of destruction on this olive grove. By the end of the day, one-third of the trees had been uprooted.
SettlementJayyous11041212
Ecumenical Accompanier Helle Preisler talking with Tawfiq Salim three days after the destruction had taken place.
SettlementJayyous06041209
Haj Jamil Salim says he owns the land along with his brother. He says the land has been in the family for over 100 years.
SettlementJayyous12041213
It is Monday December 13th and Tawfiq Salim has been ordered to do a new land survey report in order to prove that his land belongs to him.
JayyousSettlement04041210
Jayyous farmer Tawfiq Salim, flanked by an Israeli soldier, breaks down as he sees his uprooted olive trees.
SettlementJayyous18041214
Tawfiq Salim waiting in isolation before being allowed in to make his request for information about the Israeli company that claims to have bought his land two years ago.
SettlementJayyous08041209
Tawfiq Salim, the other owner of the land, pleading in his depair with an Israeli soldier.
SettlementJayyous07041209
The family offers clementines and orange juice to the guard of the quarry and the photographer.
SettlementJayyous05041209
The olive trees are loaded onto a truck. The driver said they would be sold in the Tel Aviv area.
SettlementJayyous10041209
To add insult to injury, Haj Jamil Salim and his family are not permitted to cross through the "Separation Fence." They must wait over an hour for soliders to come and open the gate.
SettlementJayyous17041214
Tuesday December 14th: Tawfiq Salim goes to the illegal Israeli settlement of Qedumim in order to renew the permit that allows him to access his own land. The request is denied.
