Tired and Cold Farmers Held Without Food-Shelter

Tired and Cold Farmers Held Without Food or Shelter

[Jayyous , Qalqilya Region, West Bank] At 6pm this evening in Jayyous, farmers coming home from harvesting olives were detained by the Israeli military. They are being prevented from passing through the South Gate in the "Separation Wall" and returning to the village from their land.

Seven farmers, including one elderly man, have been detained since 6pm without food, adequate clothing, or shelter. One soldier claimed this is "as punishment", and told volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement present that the farmers will be held until the names of those who damaged the gate earlier today have been provided.

Four international volunteers from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom will sleep at the gate and monitor the situation until the farmers are released.

Local farmers fear that such collective punishments signal a new trend. As one farmer has said, speaking anonymously: "Cages are for animals, not for people. Olive trees are important to our culture and economy. This Wall has created many problems for us and we are afraid that this year we will not be able to harvest our olives. What will we do if this happens?"

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