In the early morning of March 2nd, 2010, Israeli bulldozers started uprooting ancient olive trees in the garden of a Palestinian family in the town of Beit Jala, North-West of Bethlehem, as part of the construction of a new section of the Wall. The trajectory of the Wall in the area is planned to seize another 280,9 dunams from 35 Palestinian families.

On Wednesday March 3rd, the Ghnam family, which had already lost a significant portion of its lands when Israel built the segregated Tunnels Road connecting Jerusalem with Hebron, found the little children playground in its garden destroyed. In addition, three uprooted olive trees were left directly in front of their house, pruned to the trunk. A red cross was painted two meters away from the front door, marking the projected path of the Wall. Many of the remaining olive trees in the grove have been marked with yellow-tags, designating that they are to be uprooted another day.

A few houses up the hill, the Hamare family watched as bulldozers uprooted dozens of olive trees and destroyed the sewage system, resulting in a sewage break and a health hazard.

Attempt to Legalize Land Theft Thwarted

Between March 2nd and 3rd, Israeli bulldozers uprooted an overall of 70 olive trees, rapidly creating facts on the ground before lawyers could challenge the most recent of a series of confusing orders designed to "legalize" ongoing land theft under Israeli law. Israeli authorities based this newest act of land theft on a land seizure order from December 2006. However, the said order had expired in December 2008 and was not extended. In February 2010, and new decree was issued, which illegally validated the 2006 order retroactively. The lawyer representing the Beit Jala municipality managed to have an injunction order issued on March 4th, granting the municipality seven days to appeal.

Activist Intervention

On March 3rd, the Bethlehem Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements mobilized a group of Palestinian, international and Israeli activists in order to physically stop the bulldozers from continuing their work. Dozens of soldiers, security personal and Border Police officers spent two hours pushing and dragging the activists up the hill and away from the operating bulldozers, before eventually managing to disperse the crowd.

Demonstrators chanting while sitting on the ground as soldiers try to push them away. Picture credit: Anne Paq/Activestills.org

In the early morning hours of March 4th, a similar group showed up at the groves again to protect the remaining olive trees. Some chained themselves to ancient trees marked for removal, while others formed human-chains around them for protection. As soldiers and police officers gathered on the scene, activists chanted slogans against the Wall and the occupation and replanted uprooted trees.

After a tense few hours, in which the Israeli forces did not confront the demonstrators, a confirmation was received that an injunction order forbidding any further uprooting had been issued.

On March 7th, some 200 protestors gathered at the Orthodox Club in Beit Jala and marched through the threatened lands towards the Tunnels Road, along which the path of the Wall is to be constructed, chanting slogans against the Wall and the occupation, waving flags and holding banners saying "It is not security. It is land theft".

The demonstrators were prevented from planting olive tree seedlings as soldiers started firing tear gas projectiles and stun grenades at the crowd. Several activists and residents suffered tear gas inhalation and a member of the Popular Committee was temporarily detained. Soldiers have also fired rubber-coated bullets, injuring three journalists and a young Palestinian.