Hundreds of farmers from the villages of Um Salamuna and Wadi Rahhal protested on November 9th as Occupation forces marked their land for destruction.
Palestinian land west of the villages is being earmarked for the path of the Apartheid Wall by the Occupation forces.
The village council of Um Salamuna explains that some 150 farmers gathered to challenge Occupation soldiers and workers who were marking their farmland for devastation. Clashes erupted and the Occupation forces clamped down, expelling farmers from their land. The Palestinian farmers were able to successfully delay the work until the soldiers forced them out.
***image2***In Wadi Rahhal dozens of farmers also protested on the site where the Apartheid Wall is set to destroy their olive and grape trees. The Occupation forces have beat and injured 40-year-old Adel Zead while he stood in front of the colonizers, blocking their bulldozers from destroying his land. He was arrested and a stand-off ensued, which ended with villagers forcing the release of Adel and continued protests.
The mayor explains that the Wall will completely seal the main entrance to the village. Over the past few years, the Occupation has closed the other entrances as Jewish settlements have begun to encroach on Palestinian land from the west. After completion, 45 dunums of land will be destroyed or isolated and the village school will be located a few meters away from the Apartheid Wall. Previously, not all of the village land had been cultivated. But with the beginning of illegal seizures, farmers began to cultivate the land to underline their ownership and ensure some measure of livelihood. Currently, these lands are being stolen by the Occupation.
The mayor underlines that this is part of an organized political project geared toward confiscating land and expelling the Palestinians, but that the people will continue to stand firm and resist.
For the past two days, bulldozers have started uprooting the land of the people in Wadi Rahhal and Jurat ash-Shama. In both cases villagers have reported a huge military presence consisting of hundreds of soldiers who are stationed around the area. Occupation forces threaten to shoot anyone attempting to reach their fields.
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