Press Release - Palestinian Farmers Denied Access to their Olive Trees

In Taybe, in the Jenin district of the occupied West Bank, farmers and their international supporters were unable to reach their olive trees once again today as the Israeli authorities failed to open the access gate through the Israeli apartheid wall. 75% of people in Palestine are economically dependent on the olive harves. At each yearly harvest the Israeli occupation authorities deny Palestinians access to their land to pick their olives and directly threaten their livelihoods.

Today the farmers were accompanied by a delegation of ten people from
Brighton who are currently in the West Bank, Palestine. Lucy Collins, one of the members of the Brighton group said,

"We have come to the village of Taybe to support local Palestinian farmers
to help harvest their olives. What we have witnessed is part of a state
orchestrated policy of denying Palestinians access to their fields with the aim of annexing more and more land."

The village of Taybe has been cut in half by the Israeli apartheid wall, which cuts several kilometres inside Palestinian territory at this point. Since the building of the wall houses and olive trees on the Israeli side have been demolished by the Israeli military. The villagers who live on the Palestinian side of the wall are separated from their fields by the wall. They should be harvesting their olives at this time of year but the only way
for them to get to their land is when the Israelis open the gate.

The Brighton delegation travelled to Gate 154, with the villagers. The Israeli army allocates a number of days when Palestinians are allowed access through the gates in the wall. The villagers had a permit to go to their land and the army were scheduled to come and open the gate. However the army did not arrive and the farmers were forced to wait. Lucy Collins, adds; "At around midday we contacted the military authorities to ask them to open the gate. We were told that a patrol would come to let us through but none did and so the gate remained closed."* Gate 154 has not been opened once during the whole of 2007.

Rachel Dean, a teacher from Brighton said, "During the olive harvest period in the West Bank the army declares closed military zones in areas where farmers need to harvest while Israeli settlers harass and intimidate local people. Despite the fact that the Israeli authorities make it impossible for the farmers to access their fields, they then use absentee landlord regulations to expropriate their land. These laws date back to the period before the British mandate in Palestine. It's an outrageous land grab."

For more details contact Tom Hayes on 07846506710 or Sarah Cobham on +972598184404

www.tubas.brightonpalestine.org.

Personal blogs will be written by the group during their visit.

On their return they will be giving presentations and film shows documenting the
realities of life under military occupation in Tubas

To read the blogs go to www.brightonpalestine.org/blog

BrightonTubas
- e-mail:: * thewallmustfall@riseup.net*


NOTES FOR JOURNALISTS

for more information on Christian Aid report see;
 http://www.christianaid.org.uk/stoppoverty/conflict/resources/factsontheground.aspx,

1.The Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity group is a grassroots
network aimed at fostering and strengthening links between grassroots groups
in Tubas, Palestine and Brighton, UK.

2. 10 people from Brighton arrived in Palestine on October 20th. The
delegation includes students, health workers and representatives from
Brighton branches of Amnesty International and the Palestine Solidarity
Campaign. The group will contact grassroots organisations like the Tubas Red
Crescent, agricultural cooperatives, students' unions, Tubas Women's Group
and local trade unions.

3. Over the Summer the group helped to fund and sent volunteer to build a
school in Tubas region in defiance of Israeli military restrictions on
building. The Israeli army recently issued a demolition order on the school.

4. Sussex University Students Union twinned with Al Quds Open University
in Tubas in June this year. The city branch of UNISON in Brighton and Hove
is twinned with a union branch in Tubas.

5. A nurse from Brighton is planning to travel to Tubas to work as a
volunteer.