Olive Harvest 2007

Jalud, West Bank

ED NOTE: The village of Jalud lies about 26 km southeast of Nablus. The village legally covers 16,000 (1 dunum = 1,000 sq meters); but 10,000 dunums have been illegally confiscated for settlements, and another 2,000 have been declared a closed military zone. Jalud's roughly 500 inhabitants are regularly harrassed by the settlers from the nearby illegal settlements and outposts.


International volunteers from IWPS and ISM met with Israeli activists from different groups to support the villagers of Jalud in their olive harvest. You could see the illegal Israeli settlements overlooking us from all the hillsides, but it felt that with a good amount of people, we would be safe to harvest. In 2006 the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Palestinians must be allowed to harvest their olives, and that the army has a duty to protect the Palestinians from the settlers. Everyone was in good spirits; there were lots villagers, including women and children, and picnic baskets full of delicious food were ready for lunch.

As we reached the grove, we observed a group of about 20 settlers running down the hillside, so we spread out amongst the trees away from that hillside. Shortly afterwards we began picking, five young soldiers ran towards us, one of whom began brandishing his weapon and shouting and screaming at everyone in Hebrew. The Palestinians and internationals attempted to carry on picking, but then the settlers arrived. They were armed with small handguns and sticks, and were shouting at everyone. Among them were two young women and a few adolescent boys who were shouting abuse in Hebrew.

The Israeli activists attempted to negotiate with the soldiers and reason with the settlers. The soldiers said that the land now belonged to the settlers. The settlers shouted in English that "all the land belongs to Israel; it says so in the Bible." At this point there was much confusion, with some of the soldiers and settlers charging into the groves and chasing the Palestinians who were picking their olives.

I saw a little girl of about 3 years old and her mother just standing in the trees, both were crying and frozen with terror. A soldier was pointing his gun at the little girl's head and screaming at her to "move". I ran over and held the girl's shaking hand. I looked at the soldier; he was so young. His helmet was lop-sided and his face was so angry I could see veins bulging out his forehead. I cried out "she's just a child, what are you doing?" He shouted at me and ran off.

The soldier ran over to a group of Palestinians who were picking. He tipped over the buckets of olives and prodded his gun at members of the group. He held the gun at a man. His wife was crying. I ran over and fortunately the soldier seemed to realise that he was being watched again. He was completely out of control and I saw another soldier try and calm him down. However he still held the gun and I shuddered to think he could shoot anytime.

It was suddenly very frightening and all the children were crying. Most of them were trying to go back home but a settler kept running at them with his stick. The solidiers first tried to stop the settler from attacking the Palestinians, but then aggressively ordered the Palestinians to leave, even though we were legally entitled to be there. I stayed with the internationals and Palestinians who continued to try and harvest the olives, which were already overripe.

The soldiers, who were very tense, cocked their triggers at least twice, so it sounded like they were about to shoot. Everyone immediately put their hands in the air. The settlers looked on and jeered. We were all ordered to sit down, and the soldiers kept their guns pointed at us.

Some of the Palestinians wanted to finish picking a few of their trees, so we joined them, despite the soldiers' threats. A couple of the most aggressive settlers were physically restrained by other settlers. Finally, after about an hour and a half, the soldiers ordered everyone to leave the grove. Our pleas for more time were ignored, and we all made our way back up the hill.

As we walked, every so often the soldiers grabbed a young Palestinian man and demanded to see his ID papers. There was no apparent reason for this except intimidation and control. We heard the shouts of triumph from the settlement. The soldiers followed us almost all the way back to the village.

The whole group was invited to the main landowner's house at the top of the village for tea and sweets. He had deeds of ownership from 1948 and had brought his case to court, but the case has dragged on for the last 12 years and now he has run out of money to pursue it. Meantime, five illegal settlements continue to encroach on his land. Yet somehow, he, like all the other Palestinians we have met, remained calm, polite, and dignified. The Israeli activists were interested in his particular legal situation and took details from him. This was just one of many similar situations we witnessed.

I was part of the olive harvest for only 2 weeks but every day we had problems with the Army and the settlers. I definitely believe that the presence of internationals helps to improve the chance of Palestinians being able to harvest their olives safely.

Interested people can check out www.palsolidarity.org  or www.iwps-pal.org

More information about the settlement situation here  http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1112

Map http://www.palestine-pmc.com/maps/29-3-05.pdf

For fair-traded Palestinian olive oil, www.zaytoun.org