THE Israeli Separation Wall will destroy the livelihoods and divide the population of two more Palestinian villages south of Jerusalem, locals say, after a court ruling approved its planned route.
The wall is in parts eight-metres (25-foot) high – it would cut through ancient irrigation systems used by the West Bank villages of Battir and Beit Jala for their olive groves and divide a local Christian community.
The Israeli Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday to approve the defence ministry’s planned route. There have been a large number of petitions by locals demanding that the etension is scrapped.
The ministry insists the barrier, whose construction began in 2002 during the bloody second Palestinian intifada and which now snakes some 440 kilometres through the West Bank, is essential for Israeli security.
But in Battir, which straddles the 1949 armistice line south of Jerusalem, the barrier threatens the livelihoods of a 5,000-strong Palestinian community that depends on a Roman-era irrigation system, residents say.
The ancient system channels water from natural springs down stone terraces and through sluice gates to water villagers’ orchards and gardens.
Akram Badr, head of Battir village council said: ‘The building of the wall will destroy parts of the water system that has been here for 2,500 years, including the stone channels that lead to the village.’
Battir’s produce is a key source of income for the village, as is the tourism generated by the Roman irrigation system itself, a proposed UNESCO world heritage site that attracts Holy Land visitors and historians.
Much of the separation barrier is built along the so-called 1949 Green Line, which is recognised by the international community as the border of Israel proper, although it juts out into the occupied West Bank in several areas.
Two-thirds of Battir lies in Palestinian territory with the other third in Israel.
Israel’s defence ministry denies the barrier’s planned route would have a significant effect on the irrigation system.
‘The route was relocated to an area where the impact on the terraces and the view will be most limited,’ it said.
A few kilometres down the road, the barrier threatens to separate Christian and Muslim residents in the town of Beit Jala from their olive groves and divide the Christian community.
The wall will split the Roman Catholic Salesian order by leaving the monastery on the Israeli side and the convent in Palestinian territory. The order runs the Cremisan valley’s famous vineyards, which provide wine to churches throughout the Holy Land.
The defence ministry said it had ‘taken into account all the requests of the different parties, especially the monastery,’ in planning the barrier’s route, but did not elaborate.
• For years, Israeli restrictions and unexpected closures of the Gaza Strip’s lone commercial crossing have caused severe losses for strawberry growers in the coastal enclave, whose produce is mainly destined for European markets.
But in the current growing season, which began in November and continues until the end of February, the losses have been doubled, as a heavy winter storm hit the region in December, damaging the fields and ripe crops.
Among those coping with the loss is Khader al-Khatib, 58, who planted a patch of nearly two acres with strawberry, hoping to provide for his 20-member family.
‘Half of my strawberries have been swamped with water and the other half damaged by severe cold,’ he told Ma’an.
Tahseen al-Saqa, the general director of marketing in the Ministry of Agriculture, said about 7.4 acres cultivated with strawberries were ruined as a result of the storm, and up to 24.7 acres severely damaged.
He estimated the damage toll at $250,000.
Abdulrazik al-Direblah, another strawberry farmer who works on a low-lying field, said that around half of his blooming crops were swept by harsh winds, rainwater and mud, tearing apart the plastic coverings.
Of the 500 kilogrammes of strawberries Direblah picked up, only half was suitable for export. Eventually, he sold the produce that did not meet the European standards in the local market, offsetting only 40 per cent of their production cost.
Strawberries are one of a handful of items that Israel allows to leave Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which it controls.
Most of the strawberry growers here plant the seeds early hoping to benefit from the better-paying European market.
However, Israel’s export restrictions have compounded the burden on Gaza strawberry farmers during the current season.
On December 24, 2013, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon ordered the closure of Kerem Shalom crossing, suspending the scheduled export of sixteen tons of strawberries to western Europe on the 25th and 26th of the month, the Israeli NGO Gisha, Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement, reported.
Asked about his most recent exported share of strawberries, Khatib said ‘(The Israelis) opened the crossing, but it didn’t sell at a good export price.’
Strawberry production has been on the decline since Israel imposed the blockade on the Gaza Strip in 2007 and the consecutive ban on Gaza exports.
Saqa said that 1,500 tons of strawberries were being exported to Europe before the siege, but these figures have already dropped to 400-500.
Despite Israel’s easing on export restrictions from Gaza, allowing an average of two trucks per day to exit Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing in December 2010, they have not resulted in a recovery of strawberry production.
Strawberry farmers only occupy between 100 and 120 acres of land for planting in the Gaza Strip, compared to some 618 acres prior to 2007.
The past three years were the worst for Rafeeq Abu Samra, who has been growing strawberries for 22 years.
Israel’s November 2012 military operation, which also coincided with harvest season, frequent border closures, and most recently the extreme storm have caused him a great loss, he explained with little hope.
He said: ‘The cold damaged 70-80 kilos of strawberries everyday.’
The blocking of the smuggling tunnel trade in recent months has added to increasing the price of strawberry production in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
He added: ‘A dunum – nearly 0.25 acre – of strawberries costs me $3,500 per annum.
‘After the tunnels were destroyed, we had to resort to Israel-imported seedlings, insecticides, and fertilisers instead of Egypt-smuggled ones.
‘All of that, coupled with labour and watering costs, was a blow to my business.
‘Growing strawberries is no longer a business for saving; it barely earns a living enough for my family and for the farmers working with me. Strawberries are an export fruit that Gaza farmers grow with care.
‘It doesn’t pay off if farmers are unable to export, as the local price of strawberries per ton amounts to $1,000, or two-thirds less than the export price.’
He does not expect better conditions for the strawberry crop in the years to come, blaming Israel’s continuing export restrictions.
‘It’s a political issue.
‘They don’t want our strawberries – the best in the world – to go beyond Gaza.’
