2025-05-21
Israeli Occupation Cut Down 40 Olive Trees in Burqa/ North Nablus
Violation: cutting 40 olive trees.
Location: Burqa village/ north Nablus.
Date: May,21th 2025.
Perpetrator: The Israeli occupation army.
Affected party: Farmer Ameed Hamzeh Shaker Dasouke.
Details:
On Wednesday, May.21th 2025, Israeli occupation army raided Al- khalayel area located southwest Burqa village in Nablus governorate by Israeli military bulldozer.
It is worth mentioning that the Israeli occupation ravaged a plot of piece with total area of 4 dunams located adjacent bypass colonial road, as about 40 olive trees were uprooted aging 25 years old, which cause a completely damaged.
The affected trees belong to farmer Ameed Hamzeh Shaker Dasouke, who supports a family consisting of 3 members, 2 of them are females.
The affected farmer told as follows:
‘’ The targeted land is considered only my source of income from olive oil, several days ago, I received a threat from the occupation army that they will uproot all the trees if throw the stones to the army. Today the occupation carried out this action, as they bring a military bulldozer and they bulldozed all the trees, as these trees produce about 90 kilo of olive oil annually.
It’s worth mentioning that Burqa witnessed several attacks by settlers over past 2 years, as they established Homesh settlement, in addition to several pastoral outposts that contributed on damaging works and destroying of agricultural sector.
About Burqa:
12 km north Nablus city, Burqa is surrounded by the Israeli illegal colony “Homesh” (north), Ramin and Al-Masa’adeyeh villages (west) , Beit Amrin (east) and Sabastiya (south).
Burqa has a population of (4152) people in 2017.
Burqa has a total space of 18174 dunums, 506 of them are the town’s built-up area.
The Israeli occupation confiscated (1047) dunums from Burqa’s lands to establish “Homesh” settlement in 1980, the Israeli government claim that “Homesh” is evicted but that is not the truth, the settlement is inhabited by radical settlers who implemented several attacks against villagers of Burqa.
Oslo conventions divided Burqa into:
- A area: (4796) dunums.
- B area: (5131) dunums.
- C area : (8247) dunums.
Attacking Trees... A Form of Israeli Violations of Palestinian Environment:
The frequency of attacks by settlers and the military on Palestinian trees has been increasing. According to the field research team at the Land Research Center, since the beginning of 2024 until October 31, 2024, the occupation has targeted more than 57,323 trees and saplings, marking the highest number in the past 10 years. Of these trees, 90% have been completely destroyed, which signals a real environmental disaster.
The loss of trees, whether by cutting, burning, or poisoning, results in a reduction in the number of trees, leading to a decrease in vegetation cover. This, in turn, reduces the amount of oxygen produced in the region and increases the concentration of carbon dioxide. Moreover, the destruction of trees leaves animals without shelter or food, threatening the extinction of certain species due to the destruction of their natural habitat, which harms biodiversity.
About 236,660 trees have been vandalizing by the occupation forces and settlers over past ten years (first quarter of 2025) according to the field research team at LRC.
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
