Down the valley located to the opposite of the borders of Gaza to the east of Juhor ad-Dik village farmers are getting ready to get rid of vegetables ruined by the Israeli occupation’s chemicals to plough the land and plant new crops.
For the first time since the end of the Gaza war in 2014 Palestinian farmer Abu Atia Aldous was able to plant his land located dozens of meters away from the barrier fence harvesting some Spinach saving it from being sprayed by the Israeli occupation small civilian planes like what happened to the rest of his crops.
Despite what Aldous sees on daily basis of Israeli soldiers and war machines carrying out unknown daily tasks 150 meters away from him he asserts that he decided to re-plough four dunums of his land in which he previously planted Spinach before being sprayed by the Israeli occupation’s chemicals.
Aldous told the PIC reporter “My land is 17 dunums. I wished to harvest Spinach three times this season but the chemicals of the occupation destroyed my crops. I am going to plough the land again and plant it with watermelon. I will not sell my Spinach because I fear it contains poison. Last year my tomatoes were poisoned by the occupation too and I had to destroy it after being sprayed by chemicals.”
Farmers challenge occupation
Only beans could survive chemicals sprayed by the Israeli occupation. Spinach’s fields turned into yellow 200 meters away from the barrier fence. Aldous left his sprayed crops untouched for four weeks hoping that human rights organizations and international groups would document the incident.
Until weeks ago Aldous would not get more than 300-500 meters closer to the barrier fence but he decided after his Spinach crops were sprayed with chemicals to engage in a challenge with the Israeli occupation by getting dozens of meters away closer to the barrier fence a challenge other farmers were encouraged to take part in last Monday (27/2/2017) by ploughing their land located next to that of Aldous.
Some 300 meters away from the barrier fence the children of Aldous are engaged in collecting potatoes placing them in a long line before taking them in boxes to the market to be sold there.
Another farmer in the area Farhan Abu Issa places his hands around his waist while observing a plough which is finally working in a land he had to leave following the 2014 war on Gaza.
Abu Issa told the PIC reporter “I have been planting my land here for 40 years. Part of my field which is located next to my neighbor Abu Atia Aldous was also ruined due to chemicals sprayed by the Israeli occupation but today I will get closer plough the land and plant it with okra (ladies’ fingers) and watermelon” noting that “the water well was destroyed by the Israeli occupation which makes it harder to irrigate the plants.”
In an area that might come under fire by the Israeli occupation forces at any time the noise of the plough working in the lands of Aldous and Abu Issa gets mixed with that of workers who got dirt and mud on their clothes busy harvesting wet potatoes from the fields.
