I own about 76 dunams of farmland. I have the deed. The land is called “Hariaq al Tawahin” and is located on the edge of the road leading to the village, where the hill starts, and about one km east of the settlement Ma’ale Levona. I have two plots, one with olive trees and the second with olive and fig trees. In total, there are about 160 olive trees and 80 fig trees.
My livelihood depends on the fruit I pick in this plot. Twice a week I come to tend the trees.
On Saturday morning, August 19, 2006 at around 7 am I came to pick figs and when I finished, I went home. Then next time I went to my plot was Monday, August 21, 2006. When I reached the plot near the main road with my daughters at 7 am, I saw about 40 fruit-bearing trees cut down. The trees were around 16 years-old. The trees had been sawed about 30 cm above the ground, and the saw marks were evident.
I notified the head of our local council. He called the Palestinian ministry of agriculture in Ramallah and the Red Cross. I also complained at the Binyamin Police station. Two days ago, on August 29, an Israeli police investigator came and took the deed, and went to the plot with me and photographed the sawn trees that lay on the ground. Yesterday, on August 30, people from the Civil Administration came, and they also took photos of the plot.