Volunteers Help Harassed Palestinian Farmers

Israel is in the full throes of spring and planting season has started. One of the most significant activities with which Rabbis for Human Rights-Israel has been involved has been acting as human shields as Palestinians go out to plant their fields. Each year, settlers harass these farmers and frequently the military does not intervene.

Soldiers are much more likely to intervene when Israeli Jews work alongside the Palestinian farmers. The latest round of harassment has started this year and RHR volunteers are working in the fields to once again help protect farmers who are likely to be harassed.

Here is the latest report from Israel:

On Thursday farmers from Samoa were accompanied by RHR volunteers in order to plow an area next to the Ma'aleh Eshael outpost that they had been prevented from working for two years. A settler in a tallit came out and began to shoot in the air. He seemingly left and the work continued, but he then began to fire long volleys. As soldiers who had arrived watched and did nothing, the settler threw water with excrement and urine on our volunteers. The settler and his wife promised that their flocks would eat whatever the Palestinians had planted. The settler was arrested. Volunteers and Palestinians lodged complaints and presented ownership documents.

Last week we received final notification that the Benyamin Brigade is refusing to allow farmers from A-Sawya to bring their tractors their lands next to the Palgei Mayim outpost by traveling on the settler security road (as they did one day this year and last year). A DCO officer had promised to contact the local council to discuss solutions, but has not done so.
Farmers from Turmos Aya planted trees provided by RHR to replace those uprooted recently and in Hares farmers planted next to a new bypass road.

Many farmers still wait to coordinate plowing even as the land is drying up, as the army has succeeded in convincing them that they can't work without a permit from the army.
We worked one day with farmers from Dir El-Khateb in an area where farmers had not been for years. We saw that settlers had taken over most of the land in the area.

Despite promises that this time the army would come with more forces, a farmer from Kariyut again had to go home without plowing, despite the presence of the police and army, because they could not control settlers who came to stop the work and throw stones.
source--> www.rhr-na.org/