Press Release – for immediate release
Palestinians plant 450 almond trees in Umm Mraiga, near Jinba village
At-Tuwani, Southern Hebron Hills – 30 January 2010
On Friday, the 29th of January, Palestinians from the village of Jinba planted 300 almond trees in Umm Mraiga, an area near Jinba village, close to the “Firing Area 918”, just north the Green Line. The action was organized to claim the right of local Palestinians to access their private owned land.
At the end of the 90′s, a wide portion of this area was declared by the Israeli Army a “closed military area” and used for military training. Since then, the Palestinians of Jinba, despite being the owners of the land, have not been able to access and to cultivate the fields in proximity of the firing area.
The Palestinians, accompanied by internationals, during their demonstration were able to plant 300 trees on one day. They planted the remaining 150 trees on the morning of Saturday, the 30th of January.
On the 23rd January, a similar action was organized in At-Tuwani. On that occasion, the Palestinian villagers planted 20 olive trees in response of property damage by settlers. This attack on Palestinian agriculture followed a month of Israeli settler violence and harassment aimed at preventing Palestinian farmers from plowing their fields and thus earning their livelihoods. In addition, in recent months, Israeli military have consistently used closed military zone orders to prevent Palestinians from working their lands.
Both actions have been organized by the South Hebron Popular Committee, as part of the nonviolent resistance strategy to the Israeli occupation.
For photos of the action see http://snipurl.com/u8bfa
