Palestinian farmers return to their land after nearly 40 years

Palestinian farmers in the northern West Bank returned Thursday to their land for the first time in almost 40 years and began to plant olive trees. The area used to have an illegal Israeli settlement, Homesh, which was one of 4 settlements in the northern West Bank to be destroyed in the 2005 disengagement. In June, Israel canceled the 1978 military land seizure that had allowed the illegal settlement to be built, and in September the Attorney-General’s Office ruled that the area was no longer closed to Palestinians. Israelis are forbidden entrance to the site, according Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din which filed in 2010 the petition on behalf of Palestinians from Burka, a nearby village, that led the state to rescind the 1978 military order. Palestinians entered the area Thursday and started planting olive trees while waving Palestinian flags, according to Yesh Din spokeswoman Reut Mor, whose volunteer organization accompanied the farmers.  Mor said Thursday’s action was only the first of many days in which Palestinians will work the land. Commenting on the letter sent by the Attorney-General's Office stating that Palestinians could re-enter the area, Attorney Shlomy Zachary of the Yesh Din legal team commented: “Thirty-five years have passed since the land was usurped from its lawful owners, and we are now informed that they may lawfully return to their land. Regrettably, we are well aware of the regular and unlawful presence of Israelis in the area. Following the notification by the Attorney General, we hope that the law will now be enforced and Israelis present in the area will be removed, so that the Palestinian landowners may safely access their land and begin the work of rehabilitation.” Israeli settlers have returned to Homesh consistently since its destruction in 2005 to hold festivals and events, during which they called on the Israeli state to allow them to rebuild. The ruins of three other illegal settlements, Sanur, Ganim and Kadim, which were all destroyed in 2005, are closed military zones. It is worth mentioning that Yesh Din filed this week a petition for Israel to rescind the 1979 military order that allowed a plot of private Palestinian land to be included in the illegal settlement Beit El, which was built in 1970. The petition was filed on behalf of Ahmad Abd al-Rahman Qassam, the Palestinian landowner from the nearby village Dura al-Kara, who has already been battling in court to abort the construction of five buildings on his land. The illegal construction has already begun.