This harvest season, despite repeated requests from residents and from the regional council, the Israeli DCO refused to allow farmers from Kafr Qadum to access farmland on the northern side of the town. The settlement of Kedumim was built near the farmland, and Israel required Palestinians to apply for access before 7 October.
On Sunday, 17 November 2024, and Thursday, 28 November 2024, several farmers tried to access their land, but soldiers arrived and forced them to leave, claiming they needed permission to enter.
B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi collected testimonies from two of the farmers:
Fa’id ‘Obeid, 63, a father of nine who tried to access the land on 17 November 2024:
In previous years, we produced about 35 cans of olive oil from the crop on our plots. In the last two harvest seasons, since the war broke out in Gaza, the army hasn’t let us enter the land, pick the olives and earn an income from them. Their goal is clear – to take over the land, steal it and expand the settlements at our expense.
Bahiyah Sharmah, 77, who tried to access the land on 28 November 2024:
I applied to the Palestinian DCO several times this season for permission to access the land, but didn’t get it. Then, on 28 November 2024, I went to the gate I use to reach the land, but soldiers standing there told me to leave and said I needed coordination to get in.
I haven’t entered my land in two years. I don’t know what state it’s in, and I’m worried because it’s inside the settlement, right next to the settlers’ homes.