Israel announces it still plans to confiscate land

Israeli military announces it still plans to confiscate land

[Budrus, RAMALLAH] The people of Budrus will hold a protest demonstration after Friday prayers, tomorrow May 7, 2004 on their land being again threatened with destruction and confiscation by the Israeli military.

In late November 2003, the farmers of Budrus, a Palestinian village of 1200 people west of Ramallah, found notices in their olive groves alerting them that the path of Israel’s Apartheid Wall would run through their land, isolating from its owners nearly 1000 dunams of fruit and olive trees.

For three months, Budrus villagers, men, women, old and young, joined by Israeli and International peace activists, conducted tens of nonviolent demonstrations and work obstruction efforts to stop the destruction of land and confiscation of property. Seventy people were injured from the Israeli military’s use of rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, sound bombs and batons to beat nonviolent demonstrators and village activists and leaders were arrested for their community’s resistance.

In early March, the Israeli government announced that it would move the wall construction back to the Green Line in the Budrus area. However, on Wednesday May 5, soldiers from the Israeli Army informed Budrus landowners that now they plan on confiscating 130 dunams of land.

The people of Budrus reject even one dunam of their land being destroyed or confiscated for the path of the wall and declare that they will not be silent about it. Demonstrators will gather at the village mosque after noon prayers – 1:30pm - and march down to their land. All are invited to join.

DATE: Friday, May 7, 2004

TIME: 1:30PM

PLACE: Gather at Budrus village mosque

For more information, please contact:

Abu Ahmed: +972-54-7924-952 Perla: +972-54-6261-670 ISM Office: +972-2-277-4602

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