Only a few hundred of the 1.5 million residents of the strip have been allowed to leave since June 2007. The hospitals no longer have vital medicines, food and essentials are in short supply and over 80% of the population are reliant on food hand outs.

Those suffering the greatest are medical patients who are in desperate need of treatment which is only available in neighbouring countries.

New born babies are at great risk as hospitals lack

lifesaving equipment.Israel has refused to allow many patients to pass the borders, denying them their right to health and as a result between June and the end of November, 44 patients had died. Most of these deaths were avoidable.

8 year old Amir Shaher

Abdallah El-Yazji had the necessary permits to enter Israel for treatment for a suspected brain tumour. He was denied passage through the border crossing despite 4 attempts. Amir died in a Gaza hospital after losing consciousness.

Amir’s death came a week after a 6 month old infant was denied entry to Israel for urgent medical treatment, and died as a result of kidney failure which could not be

treated in the besieged Gaza Strip. Many Palestinians with treatable illnesses now face a bleak future as Israel continues to deny passage of goods and people. Many medicines and supplies have been prevented from reaching Gaza as Israel denies they are humanitarian necessities. An assertion than many would disagree with.

The Gaza Ministry of Health has appealed to the International Community to take immediate action to put

an end to this catastrophe which threatens the health sector with total collapse. To make matters worse, the Fatah government led by Abbas in the West Bank is calling on all medical professionals to go on strike in the Gaza Strip. Those who fail to do so are having their wages withheld. This has resulted in even deeper animosity from most Palestinians towards President Abbas.

Palestinian Farmers face diffi culties with

Olive harvest

take immediate action to put

Gaza students denied the right to education

Gaza running out of vital supplies

AqsaN E W S

vital supplies

Quarterly Issue 35 January 2008

For Free Distribution

Israel puts pressure on UK to change laws

Israel Commits

War Crimes in Gaza

The complete closure of the Gaza Strip from the outside world has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe which is being ignored by the international community.

On Tuesday 27 November 2007, the US hosted a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, bringing together the Israelis and the Palestinians in an effort to begin new peace negotiations. Over 40 states were present for the pre-negotiations conference, although the one day affair was seen by many as little more than time for delivering a few speeches and a photo opportunity for unpopular politicians.

The obvious deficiencies with the gathering included the absence of Hamas, who represent a large portion of Palestinian people. President Abbas, who is deeply unpopular with Palestinians, has been intensely criticized for attempting to curb what little freedoms the Palestinians enjoy under occupation, by banning protests against the Annapolis gathering. Despite this, wide protests still occurred, although they were violently broken up by Abbas’s security forces.

The agreement reached at Annapolis was for further peace talks to take place over the course of 2008. However, many doubt whether anything will be achieved due to the inconsistency between the words being spoken and the events being played out in the occupied territories. 8 Palestinians were killed while the conference took place, and the entire Gaza community continued to live under siege. Despite inflicting such deep suffering, Israel continued to demand recognition of itself as a racist state to the exclusion of all its non-Jewish citizens.

I N B R I E F

2

Israel openly ‘Judaising’ Jerusalem

Amnesty International reiterates Israel’s obligations

In a recent statement, Amnesty International reiterated the international law position on Israel’s obligations over the Gaza Strip. Israel, as the occupying power, is prohibited from imposing collective punishment or reprisals on the Palestinian population. Israel is ultimately responsible for ensuring the welfare of the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip where Israel controls all the land borders, air space and territorial water. Amnesty confirmed that Israeli officials’ contention that Israel is no longer bound by the laws of occupation since it redeployed its forces to the perimeter of the Gaza Strip is simply a fallacy.

Police in Gaza use excessive force against Arafat rally participants

The Gaza police force have been accused by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights of using excessive force and indiscriminate gun fire against participants at the third year anniversary rally following the death of Yasser Arafat. Many Fatah supporters were injured in the clashes, and 8 people died.

Hamas fighting back ‘like an army’

As the Israeli Occupation Forces continue to bomb and attack Gaza, killing Palestinians indiscriminately, Hamas is reportedly putting up a strong counter-attack. Hamas is opposing Israel’s almost daily incursions into the Gaza Strip in an orchestrated way and has inflicted damage including the destruction of military hardware and the killing of Israeli soldiers. Israeli journalist, Amos Harel, has reported that the IOF are no longer facing an untrained guerrilla force but that Hamas is now better equipped and trained and “fighting like and army”’

Academic Boycott Debate held in Canada

Students at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, were the recent additions to the Boycott Israel debate. Their first debate was held at the university to a packed hall of students, academics and community members on November 28. This was the first time that such a debate was held on a Canadian campus with the explicit support of the university administration, and signals a major success for the anti-apartheid movement in Canada.

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Following the complete closure of the Gaza Strip on 10th June 2007, approximately 2,700 students have been denied the right to travel abroad to their universities and colleges and continue their studies. Many of these students were in the Gaza Strip during the summer with their families and are now trapped within the densely populated area unable to leave.

Over 7,500 Gazans are waiting to leave the Gaza Strip to return to work, studies or other commitments inter-nationally. Israel is denying them all the freedom of movement to do this, and is effectively holding them pris-oners with the rest of the residents of Gaza.

Those trapped include Elham Akram Rajab who usually lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with her husband and

children. She had travelled to Gaza with her 3 children to spend the sum-mer with her family for the first time in 4 years. The children missed the start of their school year on 8th Sep-tember 2007.

In addition, her exit visa from SaudiArabia expired in November,

placing her under threat of losing her residency in Saudi Arabia and being cut off from her husband.

This miserable situation has been continuing for months with no end in site.

2,700 Gaza students denied the right to education

Peace talks at Annapolis

Manchester University students defy racist anti-Palestinian motion

On 14 November 2007, the Manchester Students Union strengthened its commitment to Palestinian rights to education by voting in favour of twinning with An-Najah University (ANU) with almost a two-thirds majority.

This defied the motion titled ‘Peace Through Education’ which was proposed in order to undermine the twinning, and was opposed by many on the grounds that it was a racist motion stereotyping Palestinians as terrorists and accusing ANU of actively supporting terrorism. This caused great indignation amongst Manchester’s student population. The writers of the motion had also cited an unreliable website as a resource which included many inaccuracies and racist quotes.

One student who attended the meeting said, “The motion shows that the racism against the Palestinians is one of the

last forms of acceptable racism. If we had been twinned with a black university during apartheid in South Africa and they had been given them the ultimatum asking them to condemn gun crime there would have been international outrage, and rightly so.”

Manchester Students Union continues to support the Palestinian right to education which they believe is clearly being denied by the Israeli occupation policies which include shelling educational establishments, shooting at students, denying students and teachers passage through checkpoints, and closures which prevent schools and universities from opening. This move was intended to help break the isolation imposed on the Palestinian people, and follows moves by many UK universities to twin with Palestinian universities.

I N B R I E F

3

Israel openly ‘Judaising’ Jerusalem

Palestinian women held prisoner

Israel continues to detain Palestinian women as political prisoners, and at present, approximately 120 women are being detained and treated as criminals. They are subjected to regular body searches, sexual harassment, solitary confinement, being prevented from going outside regularly, cell searches and confiscation of personal belongings and attacks including the use of tear gas in cells occur regularly.

Disabled Palestinians not spared oppressive policies

3rd December marked UN International Day of Disabled Persons (IDoDP) and this day was used by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights to highlight the suffering of Palestine’s disabled citizens. Israel’s human rights violations were said to have caused a deterioration in the conditions of the wounded, which has raised the number of disabled Palestinians to high levels. The services available to the disabled are abysmal due to the general poverty which now exists in the occupied territories.

Security Chaos in Gaza

The closure of Gaza has led to a precarious security situation for its civilians. Gun crimes are now rife and street violence has increased. Such a situation was widely foreseen by experts due to the strain being put on the population by the Israeli closure.

Iranian Holocaust Drama

Iranian state television is running a drama series called “Zero Degree Turn” which depicts the story of an Iranian who helped Jews escape Nazism during WWII. It has proved to be a huge hit in Iran, challenging the view that Iran and anti-Semitism are indistinguishable.

Lobby of Parliament Day 2007

November 29th marked the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. Friends of Al-Aqsa worked in conjunction with numerous Palestine solidarity organisations to make November 28th a Lobby of Parliament day in Britain.

This was an opportunity for members of the public to lobby their MPs on the issue of Palestine and bring to their attention the facts about the occupation policies. The lobby was intended to change political attitudes and government policies to make a change for Palestine.

The lobby day was also used to putt pressure on MPs to sign up to EDM’s and sign motions against the Israeli occupation and to show their support for peace which recognises the interests of the Palestinians as well as the Israelis.

The lobby day was successful, attracting around 600 people who had arranged meetings with their MPs. This year encouraged the youngest ever person to lobby parliament – a nine year old boy representing his primary school.

Gaza running out of vital supplies1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are now suffering from acute shortage of basic supplies. Hospitals are reporting zero stock availability of paediatric drugs and antibiotics, as well as a shortage in chronic disease drugs, cancer treatment drugs, a range of kidney dialysis drugs and IV glucose solution. In addition, there are also shortages of kidney dialysis machine equipment. Thus, as expected, dozens of patients with treatable illnesses have died and will continue to die in the coming months unless the siege ends.

Overall, according to the United Nations Office for Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 91 drugs are no longer available in hospitals. The international blockade of Gaza has also led to shortages in many types of foodstuffs, and soaring prices for what is available. A bag of flour used to cost 80 shekels

and now costs over 200 shekels.

Other goods such as building materials are no longer available and even fuel supplies are becoming scarce. The impact of fuel shortages affect every aspect of life, from basic cooking; running of hospitals and schools; purifying, sterilising and pumping water; running garbage collection trucks and ambulances, and much more. As fuel becomes increasingly scarce, the price of fuel is shooting up.

Gaza’s economy has collapsed following the mass closure of industries including factories in the wood, clothing, food, construction and agricultural sectors. More than 800,000 Gazan’s, more than half the population, have lost their jobs and their abilities to provide for their families. This was the direct result of border closures which have prevented raw materials passing through.

Israel puts pressure on UK to change lawsIsrael’s Public Security Minister Avi Dichter cancelled a planned visit to the UK over fears that he would be arrested on war crimes charges. British law allows private citizens to file complaints for alleged war crimes.

Dichter was one of the planners behind the 2002 assassination of Saleh Shehada, a Hamas military leader. Israel dropped a 1 tonne bomb on his house killing him, his wife and 3 children, his bodyguard and other civilians including a further 6 children. This was condemned by the world.

Dichter’s visit was called off after the UK government had been unable to guarantee him immunity against private citizens’ complaints leading to an arrest warrant for war crimes.

Israel has made it clear that it finds this situation ‘intolerable’.

In 2005, an Israeli ex-general Doron Almog who was also involved in the Shehada assassination, narrowly avoided arrest in London. He was warned of the impending arrest by Israeli Diplomats who boarded his plane before he had disembarked. He avoided arrest by returning to Israel without getting off the plane.

After the Almog incident, Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni asked British judicial authorities to review laws allowing magistrates to issue such arrest warrants. This request was made once again during Foreign Secreatary David Millibands recent visit to Israel.

The Israeli parliament has granted preliminary approval of a bill which seeks to permanently incorporate East Jerusalem as part of Israel.

This is illegal under international law as the fourth Geneva Convention prohibits a country from annexing any part of the land which they are occupying militarily. United Nations Resolutions have also prohibited this move by Israel.

Most notably, this move demonstrates that Israel will not allow the Palestinians to have East Jerusalem as the capital of any future state if a two state solution is negotiated. In preparation for this, since 1967, Israel has steadily built a ring of illegal settlements around East Jerusalem, and these now totally isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

There are 240,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem but they endure strict regulations, which control the amount of land they live on, building policies, the denial of the right to family re-unification, amongst others. There is also now a deliberate drive to move extremist Israeli settlers into Arab neighbourhoods. Reports suggest millions of dollars of US money is being poured into settling Jews into Arab neighbourhoods in Jerusalem, most notably the Silwan district.

Amongst these extremist settlers are deeply racist elements who advocate the Old City being free of all non-Jews and the building of the ‘Temple’ on the site of the Al-Aqsa sanctuary. Thus, while Israeli politicians continue to talk about a Palestinian state, they are simultaneously acting to make that an impossibility.

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4

Message from Friends of Al-Aqsa

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November 29th marked the United Nations’ International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This was commemorated all over the world by people seeking to show solidarity with the Palestinians in their darkest hour. Gaza has become a humanitarian catastrophe, but the deepest despair of all comes from the world’s apathy to Israel’s war crimes in this strip of land.

Gaza’s 1.5 million people are being starved of all necessities of life, yet in the epitome of cruelty, just enough aid and equipment is being allowed to fi lter through to its people so that they are not actually dying in large numbers. This ensures that international attention is not drawn to Israel’s inhumane actions yet life is made unbearable for the civilians.

While babies and children die of treatable diseases, world leaders met in Annapolis to talk about peace. The hypocrisy of the words spoken when compared with the actions being played out on the ground in the occupied territories was plain for all to see. 8 Palestinians were killed while the one day conference took place.

In the 40 years since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it has become clear that peace will only be achieved if both sides feel international pressure. While Palestinians face daily scrutiny, the actions of Israel have gone largely un-criticised. Israel needs to feel the pressure of world public opinion and it is important now more than ever, that we all move to boycott Israel.

FoA ActivitiesFoA has been busy raising awareness of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank over recent months. A number of talks have been held in order to boost the boycott campaign, and ensure the Palestinians are not forgotten. In addition, FoA is producing a number of new bite-size information leafl ets including ‘The Right of Return’, ‘Israel’s War Crimes’ and ‘Israel’s Weapons of Mass Destruction’. These will be available for free distribution.

FoA Volunteers (branches) Friends of Al-Aqsa branches now operate in Leicester (head offi ce), London, Walsall and Bradford. All branches welcome new volunteers to participate in the campaign work. We are particularly looking for people to take part in research work, selling merchandise and distributing information leafl ets. Please contact info@aqsa.org.uk or call 0116 2125441 if you wish to participate.

FoA talks and workshops If you think people in your locality, school, university or other place can benefi t from lectures or workshops on Palestine, contact FoA to make arrangements for a speaker to attend. Workshops aimed at school children between the ages of 5-16 are also an option, in order to educate them on the basic issues of the confl ict and the importance of Masjid Al-Aqsa. If you would like a workshop at your school, please contact us.

The One State Declaration For decades, efforts to bringabout a two-state solution in historic Palestine have failed to provide justice and peace for the Palestinian and Israeli Jewish peoples, or to offer a genuine process leading towards them.

The two-state solution ignores the physical and political realities on the ground, and presumes a false parity in power and moral claims between a colonized and occupied people on the one hand and a colonizing state and military occupier on the other. It is predicated on the unjust premise that peace can be achieved by granting limited national rights to Palestinians living in the areas occupied in 1967, while denying the rights of Palestinians inside the 1948 borders and in the Diaspora. Thus, the two-state solution condemns Palestinian citizens of Israel to permanent second-class status within their homeland, in a racist state that denies their rights by enacting laws that privilege Jews constitutionally, legally, politically, socially and culturally. Moreover, the two-state solution denies Palestinian refugees their internationally recognized right of return. The two-state solution entrenches and formalizes a policy of unequal separation on a land that has become ever more integrated territorially and economically. All the international efforts to implement a two-state solution cannot conceal the fact that a Palestinian state is not viable, and that Palestinian and Israeli Jewish independence in separate states cannot resolve fundamental injustices, the acknowledgment and redress of which are at the core of any just solution.

In light of these stark realities, we affi rm our commitment to a democratic solution that will offer a just, and thus enduring, peace in a single state based on the following principles:

- The historic land of Palestine belongs to all who live in it and to those who were expelled or exiled from it since 1948, regardless of

religion, ethnicity, national origin or current citizenship status; - Any system of government must be founded on the principle of equality in civil, political, social and cultural rights for all citizens. Power must be exercised with rigorous impartiality on behalf of all people in the diversity of their identities; - There must be just redress for the devastating effects of decades of Zionist colonization in the pre- and post-state period, including the abrogation of all laws, and ending all policies, practices and systems of military and civil control that oppress and discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion or national origin; - The recognition of the diverse character of the society, encompassing distinct religious, linguistic and cultural traditions, and national experiences;- The creation of a non-sectarian state that does not privilege the rights of one ethnic or religious group over another and that respects the separation of state from all organized religion; - The implementation of the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees in accordance with UN Resolution 194 is a fundamental requirement for justice, and a benchmark of the respect for equality. - The creation of a transparent and non-discriminatory immigration policy;- The recognition of the historic connections between the diverse communities inside the new, democratic state and their respective fellow communities outside;- In articulating the specifi c contours of such a solution, those who have been historically excluded from decision-making -- especially the Palestinian Diaspora and its refugees, and Palestinians inside Israel -- must play a central role; - The establishment of legal and institutional frameworks for justice and reconciliation.The struggle for justice and liberation must be accompanied by a clear, compelling and moral vision of the destination ¬ a solution in which all people who share a belief in equality can see a future for themselves and others. We call for the widest possible discussion, research and action to advance a unitary, democratic solution and bring it to fruition.Madrid and London, 2007

Forty Ahadith ConcerningMasjid Al-Aqsa......................FREE Qty:Palestine Beginner’s Guide £9.95 Qty: Medina to Jerusalem -Encounters with theByzantine Empire.................£5.95 Qty:A History of PalestinianResistance............................£5.95 Qty:Virtues of Jerusalem............£5.95 Qty:

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54

Amnesty InternationalGaza As A Hostile Entity: A Self-Fulfi lling Prophecy?

John Ging manages a programme valued at $350 million and over 10,000 staff, delivering education, health care, social services and micro fi nance and micro enterprise support to over one million refu-gees. To mitigate the worst effects of the current economic and hu-manitarian crisis in Gaza, the Gaza Operation also includes an Emer-gency Program, of Job Creation (11,000 positions), Food Assistance (860,000 benefi ciaries), Cash As-sistance and a range of other relief measures. In addition the Gaza Op-eration also includes reconstruction and infrastructure projects valued at over USD $93 million.

In the Gaza Strip, the blockade

imposed by Israel on the cross-ing points to the outside world has effectively trapped the 1.5 million Palestinian inhabitants and fur-ther undermined the beleaguered economy – with devastating social and economic consequences for a population most of whom already live below the poverty line.

Under international law, Israel, as the occupying power, is prohibited from imposing collective punish-ment or reprisals on the Palestinian population. Israel is ultimately re-sponsible for ensuring the welfare of the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip where Israel controls all the land borders, air space and territorial water. Israeli offi cials’ contention that Israel is no longer bound by the laws of occu-pation since it redeployed its forces to the perimeter of the Gaza Strip is simply a fallacy.

6

Fun & Games

C O M P E T I T I O N

Deadline for both competitions:

20 February 2008

Send your answers with your name, age and address to:

Friends of Al-Aqsa, PO Box 5127, Leicester, LE2 0WU.

Or email us oninfo@aqsa.org

Winners of the last competition:

Saaqib Abdul-Hameed, age 12 from Sheffi eld

Fatima Kathoria, age 18 from Leicester.

Prophet Musa (as) was commanded by Allah (swt) to go to the pharaoh in Egypt and tell him about the signs of Allah (swt) so that he would believe and stop being a tyrant. When Musa (as) went to the palace, Pharaoh rejected him and his message. To convince him, Musa (as) threw down his staff (walking stick) on the fl oor and by Allah’s (swt) miracle it turned into a big snake.

Pharaoh called his own magicians who challenged Musa (as). They threw down their ropes and sticks and made them look like snakes using illusions. But the snake of Musa (as) ate them all up! The magicians all saw this as being a real miracle and not magic, and so they believed the message of Musa (as).

Pharaoh still refused to believe and became even crueller to the Children of Israel who were slaves. Musa (as) was then commanded by Allah (swt) to leave Egypt with the Children of Israel.

Prophet Musa (as) and the Children of Israel

There are two paths in this maze, one of which leads the Children of Israel to safety. Can you fi nd the right path?

Win a £20 Argos voucher and a Friends of Al-Aqsa goody bag!!!

13 years old or under???

Using the story of Musa (as) above and your own knowledge, answer the following questions:1. What did Musa (as) do to convince Pharaoh that his message was true?2. Why did the magicians believe Musa (as)?3. What was the difference between Musa’s (as) snake and the magicians’ snakes?4. How did the children of Israel reach safety? 5. What happened to Pharaoh and his army?

14-18 years old???

Use the following clues to identify names of each Prophet that they refer to. Send us your answers for the chance to win!

1. He was impatient with his people and left them. He was then punished by Allah (swt) when he went out to sea. He was swallowed by a big fi sh. He repented to Allah (swt) while in the stomach of the fi sh.

2. He was so handsome that at one time, a group of women who saw him while they were cutting fruit with

knives ended up cutting their fi ngers in distraction.

3. He was given command of the wind by Allah swt, and was able to talk to animals.

4. He is in Jannah, but his life on this earth is not over yet.

5. He is the imam of all the Prophets.

Comic strip

76

Children in PalestineProphet Musa (as) was commanded by Allah (swt) to go to the pharaoh in Egypt and tell him about the signs of Allah (swt) so that he would believe and stop being a tyrant. When Musa (as) went to the palace, Pharaoh rejected him and his message. To convince him, Musa (as) threw down his staff (walking stick) on the fl oor and by Allah’s (swt) miracle it turned into a big snake.

Pharaoh called his own magicians who challenged Musa (as). They threw down their ropes and sticks and made them look like snakes using illusions. But the snake of Musa (as) ate them all up! The magicians all saw this as being a real miracle and not magic, and so they believed the message of Musa (as).

Pharaoh still refused to believe and became even crueller to the Children of Israel who were slaves. Musa (as) was then commanded by Allah (swt) to leave Egypt with the Children of Israel.

Prophet Musa (as) and the Children of Israel

As with most confl ict areas around the world, one of the most vulnera-ble groups of people in the occupied territories are children.

Palestinian children are faced with challenges in every facet of their lives ranging from obtaining basic food and nutri-tion, to personal safety and well-being.

There are approximately 4 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza strip. About 52% or 2.1 million of them are children below the age of 18. They have not been spared the violence of the occu-pation, and between January and September 2007 alone, 39 children were killed and 209 injured as a direct result of Israeli military and settler violence. A further 29 died as a result of Palestinian inter-factional fi ghting.

Children also face ar-rest and incarceration in adult Israeli pris-ons and in September 2007, 335 children were known to be in deten-tion.

If these children are brought to trial, they will be tried as adults if they are aged 12 or over. This is contrary to international laws relating to children and Israel has no mecha-nism in place for dealing with these children in Juvenile courts. For many of these children, their crime, if any, was throwing stones.

Palestinian children are also being hit hard by the economic collapse being faced by Palestinian society due to the harsh occupation poli-cies. 58% of all Palestinians (2.3 million) live below the poverty line and 42% of households in Gaza are now faced with extreme poverty, with over 80% totally reliant on aide for their daily needs.

The infant mortality rate was at a high of 25.3/1000 during 2004-

2005. Comparatively, Israel’s infantmortality rate in 2005 was 5/1000. Health is a major factor for Pales-tinians and 10% of Palestinian chil-dren under the age of 5 are stunted. Furthermore, over 70% of 9-month-old children in Gaza and 50% in the West Bank are anaemic.

The educational opportunities for Palestinian children are affected by many factors, including Israel’s wall which has separated many children from their schools in the West Bank.

Checkpoints make at-tendance at school un-predictable as both stu-dents and teachers are easily prevented from reaching their schools.

Further to this, achievements are low amongst children in certain areas. UNWRA puts this down to violence, overcrowding and poverty which all reduce the chances of a successful education for most Pales-tinian children.

A new born baby in an under-equipped Gaza hospital

Published by Friends of Al-Aqsa, P.O.Box 5127, Leicester, LE2 0WU, Tel 07711 823 524, (0116) 2125441, Email: info@aqsa.org.uk, www.aqsa.org.uk

8

Each year, during the olive harvest period, Palestinian farmers face intense difficulties with Israeli soldiers and violent extremist settlers attempting to disrupt the harvest. Restrictions are placed on when farmers can access their land when they are close to illegal settlements, and this makes the harvest unpredictable and often impossible.

In many places farmers are intimidated and threatened by settlers who have in the past stolen olive groves, chopped down or burnt trees, prevented farmers from visiting their land, and stolen the harvest once the olives were picked.

In villages that have been divided by the wall, farmers were forced to apply for permits in order to access their own land. These permits were then denied or withdrawn at will by the Israeli Army.

For many Palestinian families, the olive harvest provides much needed income to counter their increasingly desperate situations. Each year, the harvest becomes more difficult and the situation gets worse for Palestinian farmers and their families. Israel’s occupation policies mean poverty and unemployment are rife. The situation is so poor now that in places, such as the village of Kufr Qudum which relies on a generator for electricity, the village council was forced to reduce the numbers of hours electricity is available because villagers cannot afford to pay for the diesel required.

The UK based ethical business ‘Zaytoun’ was established to support marginalized farming communities in Palestine. Every year Zaytoun organizes an olive picking group and a tour over the olive harvest period.

This year, 16 people travelled with Zaytoun as olive picking volunteers and international observers.

Palestinian farmers face difficulties with Olive harvest

Their mission was to help Palestinian farmers who face intense difficulties with their olive harvest. The volunteers found that this year was worse than previous years and confirmed the desperation of the farmers they went to support.

Most of the farmers whom they helped pleaded for more people to go out to Palestine, and to return home and tell the stories of what they have seen there.

Visit www.zaytoun.org for details about the trips.