Occupation forces expelled farmers from their land in Kafr Qadum, following a series of attacks by settlers against the farmers on October 20 2008. At around 10:00 in the morning, the forces declared the land to the east of the village to be a closed military zone, and prevented the farmers from harvesting their olives.
***image4***A mob of about 120 settlers stormed a hill above the village and began pelting the farmers with stones. Some of them also attempted to burn a car that was parked next to the fields.
As these attacks were going on, a large group of Occupation forces rushed onto the scene, but rather than attempting to stop the settlers, they made the farmers leave the land by threatening to use violence against them. The forces then declared the entire area to be a closed military zone, and prevented anyone from entering.
The settlers came from different locations, and used the Kedumim settlement as a base from which to launch their attacks on the Palestinian farmers. The Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign has already recorded five settler attacks against the residents of Kafr Qadum during this olive harvest campaign, all of them in an effort to prevent the farmers from reaching their land. The farmland around the village has been torched and destroyed, the trees and crops have been uprooted, and the farmersâ harvesting tools have been stolen. The settlers, always with the protection of the Occupation forces, have also physically attacked the farmers, and forcefully expelled them from their lands.