CPTnet
21 October 2014
PALESTINE: Palestinians and
Internationals harvest olives on Surif village land threatened with
confiscation
On 18 October, the Hebron Defense Committee organized a community
workday that celebrated the olive harvest and resisted the Israeli confiscation
of Palestinian land belonging to the town of Surif in the Hebron District,
which lies adjacent to the Separation Barrier/Apartheid Wall.
A month ago, Israeli authorities announced the confiscation of
4000 dunums [988 acres] around Surif.
The 18 October event gathered local and international activists in a
show of solidarity with the Palestinian farmers and also provided labor to help
the families with the olive picking.
Harvest time is now in full swing, and for Palestinian community
members, the olive trees ‘symbolize life and existence’.
The land just outside of Surif was previously under threat of
confiscation in 1967, when a group of Israeli settlers and military camped in
the area. In response, the people
of Surif also camped out on the land, day and night. They stayed there for a week until the settlers left. In the 1970s, the Palestinians in Surif
opened a road to the area, planted olive trees, and built houses in order to
remain on and defend their land.
They say, ‘We resisted against land confiscation
then, and we still resist.’
The Hebron Defense Committee ‘uses the method of non-violent popular
struggle against the occupation and colonial policies’. Also present were the parents of Samer
Issawi, a Palestinian hunger striker being held in Israeli administrative
detention.
Video of the action is available here:
