Violation: Burning trees and an agricultural structure.

Location: Al Habat- Tarqumiya town/ Hebron governorate.

Date: May,1^st 2025.

Perpetrators: Settlers.

Affected party: Farmer Ziad Abu Haltam.

Details:

 On Thursday, May,1^st 2025, a group of settlers burn an agricultural structure, trees, and summers’ crops in ‘Al Habat’ area, east Tarqumiya town, west Hebron governorate.

The land belongs to Farmer (Ziad Mohammad Abd Al Azeez Abu Haltam), who owns 4 dunams planted with olive trees and grapes. In this year he plants it with vegetables, as he stays in an agricultural structure located on his land, as Tarqumiyas’ residents inheritance the residence in their lands from the past, according to them, the farmers of the town and who owned the lands in Al Habat, Al Tabiya, Al Hardash and Abu Taiy they go up to these lands in Summer as grape fruit, almond, vegetables and Summers’ products then return to their town in winter.

Farmer Abu Haltam told as follows:

‘’On Thursday, May, 1^st 2025, I finished checking up trees and my land early, the weather was hot, dry and dusty. At around eight o’clock in the morning, I headed to Tarqumiya. Shortly before noon, irecived a call from one of the farmers reporting that a fire setting up to my structure and they had contacted the civil Defense to extinguish the blaze, I headed to the location as the Civil Defense trunk had already arrived via a rough path, after the occupation closed off the agricultural roads. The firefighters managed to extinguish the fire as my belonging completely burned.’’

The farmer accuses the settlers of being responsible for setting fire to his agricultural structure, he pointed out that occupation army had set up a ‘metal cabin’ to the east of his land, about 300 meters away from his land, as the settlers exist in this cabin from time to other and carried out provocative patrols in the farmers’ lands.

The damages according to affected farmer as follows:

• Burning an agricultural structure, consisting of a room and tin plates, 16m².
• Burning kitchen made of tins plates near the structure, 2m².
• Burning household items, the covers and the bed.
• Burning 5 olive trees, aging 10 years old.
• Burning 5 almond trees aging 10 years old.
• Burning about 50m² planted with Onion and Garlic.
• Damaging about 50m² planted with summers’ vegetables.

 It is worth noting that Al’ Habat’ area located to east of Tarqumiya town. And the occupation authorities carried out over 3 years old ravaging operations to farmers’ lands as classified as ‘’State Lands’, as ‘Telem’ settlement overlooking to the area from the southeastern part.

A glimpse on Tarqumiya town:

The town of Tarqumiya is located 10 km to the west of Hebron, and it is bordered to the north by the towns of Beit Ula and Beit Kahel, to the west by Idna town, to the east by Hebron city and Tafuh town, and to the south by the towns of Tafuh and Dora.

Its population is 19,311 people as of 2017. The total area of the village is 22,106 dunums, of which 2,117 dunums are a built-up area.

The total of 948 dunums of the town’s land was seized for the construction of the two following settlements:

• At least 442 dunums for Adora settlement established in 1982 and now inhabited by 191 settlers.
• At least 506 dunums for Telem settlement established in 1981 and now inhabited by 127 settlers.

Tarqumiya land classification by Olso agreement:

• Areas classified as B constitutes 37% equal to 8,186 dunums.
• Areas classified as C constitutes 63% equal to 13,920 dunums.

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

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