Contents

This report covers the period between the star-t of the Palestinian uprising (December 1987) and the end of March 1989. During this period the Israeli authorities enforced a range of punitive measures against the agricultural sector in the West Bank and Gaza Strip:

Curfews and sieges were Imposed on villages during which crops rotted in the fields, sowing dates were missed, diseases damaged crops which were not sprayed on time, access to grazing for livestock was denied, and marketing of produce was prevented.

• Export of crops from particular villages to Jordan or Israel was prohibited, specifically as a punitive measure.
• The transport of produce to market was obstructed.
• Tens of thousands of olive, almond and citrus trees were uprooted by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli settlers.
• Thousands of trees were destroyed by arson attacks.
• Tens of thousands of dunams of land were confiscated.
• Arbitrary and exorbitant taxes were Imposed on merchants working in the agricultural sector.
• Crops were destroyed in their fields by the IDF.
• Livestock grazing was restricted; shepherds were harassed and In two cases, murdered.
• Several poultry farms were demolished by the IDF.

In many of these cases the Israeli authorities have openly specified that the measures were taken in retaliation for antloccupation protests In the villages concerned - a clear form of collective punishment. In some cases these measures were Justified for "security reasons", while in others no official explanation was offered.

While these measures have primarily been enforced by the IDF, there have been many examples of settlers taking the law Into their own hands, without restraint or investigation from the IDF.

Some of these measures have received Intermittent attention In the foreign press, however many have gone unreported. The measures have now become so commonplace that few journalists regard them as newsworthy. Individual incidents of tree uprooting or land confiscation appear relatively unimportant next to the more dramatic and spectacular events of the past 18 months. Nevertheless when viewed collectively the scale of these measures Indicates a policy no less disturbing than the beatings, arrests and killings which have held the media's attention.

This report comprises a collection of examples of sanctions taken against Palestinian agriculture. it is intended for use by journalists and researchers who seek to draw attention to these events. Information has been drawn from two main sources: field visits during which interviews were conducted with farmers who provided first hand accounts of sanctions, and local newspapers (Al-Fajr, Al-Quds, Al-Shalab, Al-Ittihad, Al-Talia, Al-Fajr English and Al-Nahar).

The researchers are aware of the limitations of using press reports. At times they may be inaccurate, and many incidents go unreported either because the press was not informed or because publication was forbidden by the military censor; all newspapers must be submitted to the Israeli censor prior to publication, and a substantial proportion of the articles submitted are routinely rejected. In general it was evident to the researchers that only a small proportion of the sanctions against agriculture which occurred actually found their way into the newspapers: during field visits a large number of incidents were encountered which were not reported in the press. The statistics derived from newspaper reports should therefore be considered minimum estimates of the actual scale of incidents.

Agriculture is most vulnerable to sanctions during harvest time, when sieges leave crops rotting in the fields and marketing restrictions prevent their sale. As this report is published, so new harvests are approaching. It is hoped that this report can help to discourage the Israeli authorities from imposing a new series of sanctions, and to allow Palestinian farmers what is their basic right - to sow their land, harvest their crops and sell their produce.