Land Research Center

Violation: cutting and destruction 80 olive saplings

Location: Jaba' town, south of Jenin

Date: March 6^th  , 2025

Perpetrators: settlers

Affected Party: The farmer Nael Fathi Shafeeq Fashafsha

Details:

Thursday, March 6th   2025 a group of settlers, originating from the ‘Homesh’ settlement, raided Al ‘Mahajir’ area located on the lands of Jaba’ town. The settlers targeted a 9-dunam agricultural plot of land, which is owned by Nael Fathi Shafiq Fashafsha, a farmer from Jaba’ and the sole provider for a family consisting of three, and one female member.

It is noteworthy that the settlers deliberately destroyed 80 two years old olive saplings by manually breaking their stems in an attempt to damage them, resulting in their complete destruction. The affected farmer had planted these saplings at the beginning of this year, in February, with the assistance of the International First Aid Organization, aiming to strengthen the resilience of farmers in threatened areas. It is important to mention that the site is one of the areas where settlers have been actively violentrecently, carrying out systematic violations of sabotage aimed at undermining the will of the Palestinian farmer.

The affected farmer said:

‘’Last year, my land was subjected to a destructive attack by settlers, where I had planted nearly 100 olive saplings and was regularly checking up on them. But the settlers came and cut down all the saplings. Despite this I recently replanted the land with around 80 olive saplings. However, only a few days passed before the came over and destroyed all the saplings again. Nevertheless, I insist on replanting the land that has been passed down to me from my ancestors, because if I leave it abandoned, the settlers will take control of it.’’

It is worth mentioning that a group of ideologically extreme settlers, since October 7, have taken up a position in Homesh settlement area. from this location, they have been launching attacks on farmers in nearby villages and rural areas, LRC reporters documented numerous such incidents.

About Homesh settlement:

The colony was established in 1980 on the boundary between the Nablus and Jenin governorates on the expense of the village of Burqa. It was built atop Parcel 6 of Jabal Al Dohoor on land pieces number 1 through 22. Until 2005, the colony had confiscated 1050 dunums of which 157 were its built-up area. Upon its eviction, there were 181 colonists living in the colony’s houses and 10 mobile caravans. In addition, there were around 4,000 dunums surrounding the colony that were considered to be a buffer zone to which Palestinians were prevented from entering or using for any purposes.

Before the evacuation process, the Israeli army issued on 21/6/2005 several notifications bearing the following numbers: (05/97/(T و (05/98/(T و (05/200/T)  (05/201/T), which included the confiscation of 2012 dunams of land from the village of burqa to establish a military camp for the Israeli army to protect the settlers during the evacuation process. The confiscation involved taking control of 474 dunams from plot 5, known as Sartasa plot, and the remainder from plots 21( Al Abour) and 22 (Al Hababeer), it is worth noting that in 2022, about 1950 dunams were confiscated for destruction road number 60, starting from Kdumim settlement , junction to the main road linking Tulkarm and Nablus. As the result the confiscated land was under the control of Homesh settlement, which is also considered a closed military area where its owners are not allowed to enter.

Legal Commentary:

The Palestinian environment, in general, is subjected to numerous environmental violations by the Israeli occupation, disregarding all international and national laws and conventions related to the protection of environmental rights. The right to live in a clean and healthy environment is a fundamental human right that has been inherent to mankind since the beginning of creation. The occupation often attempts to present itself as being concerned with international environmental issues, despite having signed major environmental protection agreements, such as the Basel Convention in 1989, the Rotterdam Convention in 2008, the Stockholm Convention in 2001, and the Ramsar Convention in 1971, as well as air quality and climate protocols. Nevertheless, Israel continues to violate all of these treaties without accountability or oversight.

In addition to the provisions regarding the right to enjoy a clean and healthy environment for all those under military occupation according to international laws, conventions, and treaties, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 2200A (d-21) on December 16, 1966, in Article (1), paragraph (2): "...All peoples, in pursuit of their own objectives, have the right to freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising from the international economic cooperation based on the principle of mutual benefit and international law. In no case shall a people be deprived of its means of subsistence...".

Undoubtedly, the violations carried out by the Israeli occupation contradicts with the laws of the occupation state itself before any other laws. Referring to the details of this case, the Israeli Penal Code of 1977 and its amendments stipulate that trespassing on someone else's property to commit a criminal act punishable by law is an offense. By reading Article 452 of the Israeli Penal Code, we find that the law punishes those who commit an offense or cause damage to property such as (a water well, a water reservoir, a dam, a floodgate, planted trees, a bridge, a tank, or a water cistern) with a penalty of five years imprisonment.

In addition to, Article 447 of the Penal Code states: "Anyone who does any of the following with the intent to intimidate, insult, or harass the property owner or commit a crime shall be punished by imprisonment for two years:

(1) Enters or crosses the property;
  (2) After entering the property legally, remains there unlawfully.

(b) A crime is committed under this section if the offender carries a firearm or a cold weapon, and the punishment is imprisonment for four years."

By reading the text of this article, we find that the Israeli Penal Code criminalizes the mere act of entering someone else's property without permission, with the intent to insult, harass, or intimidate, and punishes this act with two years of imprisonment. The punishment increases to four years if the offender commits any act on someone else's property using a weapon or a sharp tool, referred to as a "cold weapon." This is explicitly criminalized in the text of Article 447 of the aforementioned Israeli Penal Code. Additionally, a penalty of 5 years imprisonment is imposed on those who cause damage to property mentioned in Article 452. Therefore, the violator, the "settler," should face a compounded violation: the first for entering a property that is not theirs, and the second for trespassing on and cutting down the planted trees, resulting in environmental harm.

Therefore, the Israeli aggressor blatantly violates both international laws and treaties, as well as the internal laws of the "occupying state," in a clear violation. Consequently, the "Israeli judiciary" must hold the settlers accountable and punish them for these actions based on the provisions of their own laws. However, there is no legal accountability for the aggressors by the Israeli judiciary. Despite this, every human being on this earth has the right to live in a clean, healthy, and safe environment, free from any violation or aggression against it.

مشروع: حماية الحقوق البيئية الفلسطينية في مناطق "ج" SPERAC IV - FCDO

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the Norwegian Refugee Council.
إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ المجلس النرويجي. للاجئين