***image7***Over fifty trucks a day filled with trash from settlements are being brought in and dumped on the lands of Jayyus village, in three different places. The accumulation and scattering of this trash is suffocating olive trees and surrounding fields.
The Youth of Jayyus, unwilling to accept this Zionist agenda, organized a demonstration at one of the trash dump areas. At the entrance of the village, 35-40 people between the ages of 20- 35, congregated and walked together through the fields to the trash site near the water well of Azoun. Dump trucks were initially heading to another trash site area, but changed when they heard that the youth were going to demonstrate. The Youth re-organized and followed the trucks to Azoun, where they saw the dump truck and bulldozer working. The Youth circled the truck so that it could not move up the trash dump hill and claimed their lands. They opened the door where the driver was sitting and forced the truck to leave the area. Demonstrators refused to negotiate and refused to leave, even though the driver threatened to call the Occupation army. While some demonstrators stayed to secure the area, others ran to the roadway to stop other trucks from entering into Jayyus. The following evening, the dump trucks came with Occupation military vehicle escorts, knowing and fearing that if they returned, the youth would once again resist against them. Demonstrators pelted rocks at the military vehicles, and smashed the window of the truck. The Youth of Jayyus have already begun to mobilize other demonstrations and plan to continue fighting against the dumping of Zionist waste on what remains of their lands.
***image8***The sites of the trash dumps have strategic significance. The first area is located near the water well of Azoun village, a main water resource that nine villages depend on, including Jayyus. The second area is on the main street between Tulkarem and Qalqilya, on Jayyus land. This valley channels rainwater to the fields and water table below Jayyus, Sir, and Kufir Jamal. The third area is near the Wall between the olive trees of Jayyus and Falamya, close to Falamyaâs water well. This well, one of the main wells in the area, was destroyed during construction of the Wall. It is clear that the essential water and agricultural resources that were not destroyed by the Wall are now seriously in danger, as toxic runoff contamination seeps through the fields and eventually to the water table below. Since 2002, 75% of Jayyusâ agricultural lands have been destroyed and isolated behind the Apartheid Wall. Today, the Occupation is targeting what land is left on the other side of the Wall.
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