Join us.

We accept applications for new volunteers throughout the year. For more information check out our

Volunteer Page.

IWPS Team working with other activists against the brutal occupation of Palestine…

On 22 May, the IWPS house team visited the Al Awdah Centre for Children and the Young Welfare in Tulkarm refugee camp. The camp is the second largest in the West Bank and houses more than 18,000 registered refugees on an area of approximately 0.18 km. The people in the camp are refugees from the villages of Misca, Kakun and Wadi Hawareth around Haifa, Jaffa and Kissaria area, which were destroyed by Israeli forces in 1948.

We arrived at the Al Awdah Centre just as they were closing, but staff at the centre were happy to stay a little longer and talk to us about their work. The Centre caters to children with learning difficulties between the ages of 3-16. They strategically work with the families of the children, especially the mothers, who then mentor their children at home. The school was originally started in 2004 and operated out of a small house in the camp. Demand for services has seen the school grow and in 2006, they were able to establish the Al Awdah Center with financial help Spain. It currently accepts students from within the camp and surrounding area. Seventeen teachers including special education teachers are employed by the school. International volunteers also occasionally offer a range of other courses at the school. Current enrollment sits at approximately 50 children. Referrals to the school may be made by the other schools in the camp, or an approach made by individuals. School fees are 100 shekels-month (about $35>00), though this is still prohibitive for many families.

The UNRWA run 4 schools in Tulkarm refugee camp but they are insufficient for the population of the camp and the social problems life in the camp subject the children to. We spoke to one of the 17 teachers at the school who was also born in the camp. He told us that nowadays, most of the children drop out of school and do not finish 9th grade. He explained that the conditions for people in the camps are much worse now than before the second intifada, and when he was young. It is the norm for 25 -30 people to live in one household, along with their animals. Unemployment is at 30%, as 70% of those who were able to find work in Israel lost their jobs after the second intifada. Only a small number of children proceed to high school. Most try to eke out a living in the markets.
Overcrowding in the UNRWA schools is endemic. One school holds double shifts for students. In 6th grade classes the teacher/student ratio is approximately 40 students for every teacher. By 8th grade there are fewer students per teacher (28/1) but only because students drop out of school as they get older.

On a brighter note, UNRWA also hosts a centre for women that conducts workshops on embroidery, computing and hairdressing. The workshops are free apart from the hairdressing course and are intended to provide additional skills for them to earn a living. There is a waiting list to get into the workshops; the women are motivated to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
The Al Awdah Centre and the workshops for women are a small sign of hope for the people living in the Tulkarm refugee camp. However, the hardships of Palestinian refugees continue to be severe until Israeli’s illegal occupation of Palestine ends and a just solution is found for the 4.5 million Palestinians who live without a land to call home.

The centre can be contacted on alawdamesyahoo.com

On Friday, May 19, the IWPS House Team met San Ghan’ny (We Shall Sing) in Nabi Salih for the weekly village demonstration. San Ghan’ny is “Scotland’s singing group in solidarity with Palestine. PN, their choir director, describes them as a protest choir. They sing songs for justice in English, Arabic and Gaelic. PN is a good friend of one of IWPS’s founders, and she had spent time with us last week in Wadi Qana. This week we coordinated for her and the choir of 9 women and 2 men to go to Nabi Salih.

Organizers of the demonstration asked if the choir would lead the march, which begins in the center of the village and winds down the village road toward the spring which has been taken over . The march has never successfully made it to the spring. It is always stopped by a barrage of tear gas, rubber bullets, live ammunition and arrests.
Still, the choir led the march, alternating the songs of freedom they had prepared with the freedom chants of the villagers.

The choir of eleven 60+ year olds took the Israeli Occupation Forces unawares. We proceeded to a point much closer to them than is usual, and the choir sang many songs, with the villagers looking on. Soldiers took up positions on the surrounding hillside and tear gas was fired, but it was a distance from us with the choir. A truck, unfamiliar to any of us near the choir was positioned directly in front of us, as was several jeeps and about 10 soldiers. We sat down in the road, continuing to sing. Suddenly one of the villagers told us to “get back.” The unfamiliar truck was fast on the move towards us. It was a skunk truck and it sprayed it foul smelling chemical water on members of the choir before they had time to move out of its range. We were given no warning by the IOF to move prior to the skunk truck being used on us. In the run a Palestinian woman was wounded in the leg by a tear gas canister and evacuated to the hospital.

All of us retreated back toward the village road junction. Those sprayed attempted to get some of the smell off their hands, hair and scarves, to no avail. It can take many days for the smell to dissipate, even after many washings. After about a half an hour, we proceeded back down the road toward the spring. At this point the soldiers had left the road and the skunk truck was not in sight. As soon as we began marching and singing, the IOF reappeared. Again we had a period of time where the soldiers did nothing. Some of the villagers joined singing in the Arabic songs and the Palestinians shared some of their traditional songs. That is what was happening on the road.
Again, without warning, the skunk truck reappeared. We all ran and as we were running away the IOF showered us with rubber bullets. Several Palestinians were hit, 3 of the choir members and one member of the IWPS house team were hit, all in the upper torso, all in the back. Several of the choir members were unable to run the distance back up the hill and split off from the rest of us, taking refuge in a solitary house along the road. From up on the hill, it was noticed that an army jeep was parked on the road close to the house. After it left, the choir members joined the rest of us.
There was some continued skirmish between the soldiers and the shebab, but for the most part the demonstration was over.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2012
Israeli Occupation Forces demand evacuation of 1400 Olive Trees in Wadi Qana, Salfit
On April 25, 2012 nine farmers of Deir Istiya, Salfit were given orders to uproot 1400 olive trees in the Wadi Qana agricultural area by May 1, 2012. This is the largest order for uprooting trees that the farmers of Wadi Qana have ever been given. Most of the trees were planted approximately 5 years ago on privately owned Palestinian property. The orders, placed on retaining terraces, rocks and fences in the vicinity of the trees, state that if the farmers do not uproot their trees they will face punishment which could include large fines and imprisonment.

Update: On April 27th another farmer found same order in his grove for 600 trees to be uprooted, so now the total number of trees under threat is 2000. As of early today, May 17th, the orders have not been carried out. However, this does not mean that the trees are safe. The order is still in place and the Israeli Occupation Forces can carry it out at any time. The threat is still imminent.

Where is Wadi Qana:


View Larger Map

I just created a petition: Israeli Government: To stop uprooting 1400 trees on privately owned Palestinian land, because I care deeply about this very important issue.

I’m trying to collect 5000 signatures, and I could really use your help.

To read more about what I’m trying to do and to sign my petition, click here:

It’ll just take a minute!

Once you’re done, please ask your friends to sign the petition as well. Grassroots movements succeed because people like you are willing to spread the word!

As of 12.01am May 4, you have helped us and the farmers of Deir Istyia to gather 3694 signatures! Thank you!

Organizations and News Sites are helping to spread the message and showing solidarity with the farmers of Deir Istyia/Wadi Qana:

The Fairtrade Foundation has expressed outrage and shock at the news that Israel has ordered nine Palestinian olive farmers of Deir Istiya, Salfit on the West Bank to uproot 1,400 olive trees in Wadi Qana area by 1 May 2012.

Electronic Intifada: Israel claims that olive trees in Wadi Qana must be uprooted for a nature reserve, but the move is about controlling the land and destroying the Palestinian economy.

Palestine Monitor: Deir Istiya’s Farmers are Under Siege

Deir Istiya, occupied West Bank—On Tuesday April 1 in the West Bank’s fertile Qana Valley, residents of Deir Istiya and members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) organized a solidarity cleanup event for May Day. About 30 Palestinian and international volunteers gathered to aid Deir Istiya’s farmers in picking up the masses of plastic bags so commonly strewn throughout the West Bank.

However, the May Day event was arranged for another, rather gloomy, reason. According to the International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS), nine of Deir Istiya’s farmers were given orders last week by the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA—the Israeli governing body operating in the occupied West Bank) to uproot 1,400 olive trees in the Qana Valley agricultural area. They were given by May 1st to do so.

Read more about Wadi Qana below and here

---

On May 13, IWPS house met with a representative of al Zaytouna

“Olive trees say to the world we are Palestinian and we own this land”

R tells us “there is an olive tree on my land that is between 2000-3000 years old.” Generations of Palestinian farmers transfer their knowledge about tending their trees from father to son: ´I learned from my father, my father learned from his father … each learning from his father about how to keep these trees. My son is 8 years old now and after school and during school holidays I take him to our land and teach him about these trees.”

Most Palestinian families depend on the income derived from olive oil from their trees. Traditionally, the olive harvest marked a significant date in their calendar as farmers would wait for the harvest to pay their bills. It is hard work but a joyous community occasion. Important life events such as weddings were also scheduled around the harvest. Olive oil is also often bartered for other goods through the year. R tells me it is the Palestinian “petrol.”

In April 2012, farmers in Wadi Qana were ordered to uproot 2000 olive trees. This order was issued to ten farmers but more than 80 people are affected by it. More than 1000 trees were uprooted in 2011. In recent times, at least 50 families have been directly impacted by orders to remove their olive trees. Olive trees aged between 3-12 years of age produce 5000 kgs of olives. At maturity, they can produce 15 tonnes of fruit.

Wadi Qana has been a fertile farming valley for centuries and the farmers are not about to give this up. Now, the nine settlements including Nofim, Yaqir, Immanuel, Qarne Shomron and Ma´ale Shomron crown the rim of this beautiful valley. Several small outposts indicate that the settlements are expanding. The Israeli government wants to turn Wadi Qana into a nature reserve.

Farmers in Wadi Qana have been receiving orders to uproot their trees from 1986 but this has not deterred them. Around 1999, the trees started dying and water tests proved that more than 70% of the water supply was severely polluted from sewage waste pumped down from the settlements. A few hundred trees died. Sewage pipes were eventually put in to pump the sewage out. The farmers returned and continued to replant their trees. Wadi Qana is a fertile valley filled with fruit orchards including almond, fig, pomegranate and citrus. In recent decades, farmers have started to replace fruit trees that had reached the end of their life with olive trees. Olive trees are hardy and require little water or attention apart from irrigation during their first three years to establish. Furthermore, as R tells me, the farmers plant these trees as an investment and as a way to keep their lands from the settlements.

The farmers´ story left me with an acute sense of Palestinian resilience. They would continue to replant their trees irregardless of how frequently they were uprooted. My thoughts turn constantly however, to that magnificent old olive tree by the settlement road in Zone C and I said a silent prayer to keep it safe.

---

On April 30th, IWPS house team, along with internationals and Israeli activists, kept a 24 hour presence with the farmers of Wadi Qana who have been given orders that at 2000 olive trees are to be uprooted by May 1, 2012. We spent the night making plans for the following day. We didn’t know if the military would carry out the order on the next day… this is form of psychological torture… not knowing when this atrocious order to kill 2000 trees will be carried out. However, we assumed that with such a strong international presence, the military would hold off. If that be the case, we decided that we would clean the Wadi Qana springs picnic area and plant more olive trees. We arrived at this conclusion after much debate and many cups of miramiya tea!

The following morning, before we began our “work” we took a hike through the hills to see and learn some of the history of Wadi Qana. Before the settlements which surround the valley were built and Israel claimed Wadi Qana as their “natural reserve” about 300 people lived in the valley. Remnants of their habitation are numerous. A grinding wheel for wheat lay unused for many years. It dates back to roman times.

Not far away is a cave from which a spring bubbles out.

The water forms a small lake. The water that comes from the spring is pure, but sewage from the settlements has polluted the lake. Pressure on the Israeli’s from the municipality of Deir Istyia and IWPS has forced the Israeli’s to create septic systems for the settlements, but as the settlements expand the septic tanks overflow. It is ironic that the Israeli’s try to confiscate the Wadi Qana, calling it their natural reserve, yet they pollute it with their own sewage water.

On our walk back we hiked off the main path and was delighted to see the wild flowers that spring up naturally like the water from the springs. Israel said they would make the desert bloom; they must have missed the flowers that have grown on the rocky terraces for centuries. We walked through a field of wheat, careful to keep our footing in the rows between the wheat, making our way back to camp. We then proceeded to the picnic area to do a clean up of the area and plant some olive trees.

As we were cleaning rubbish from the area, a field trip of settler children accompanied by men with machine guns, rifles and pistols, came into the Wadi.

These children are being taught that Wadi Qana is their land. They trampled through the fields with no regard for the newly planted crops. A young Palestinian woman yelled at them, and the settlers called “settler security” and the Israeli Occupation Forces. Soon the picnic area was filled with soldiers, who seemed to think we were a menace. We were cleaning the picnic area. Yes, we were cleaning the picnic area, and for that we were a menace and a possible to danger to the illegal settlers. The soldiers remained for about an hour, watching us clean the area of rubbish. This is the Occupation. A day never goes by, not a single day, that the ugly beast of the Occupation does not rear its ugly head.

---

---

On the 19th of April, IWPS house team went on a relaxing walk through the Wadi Qana valley with some long time friends of IWPS. You can read about it below, along with other reports that have been written about the Wadi Qana.
As picturesquely written in that article, the Wadi Qana valley is as about as close to nature as one can get. There is native flora and fauna, eucalyptus and carob trees, terraced hillsides of Olive trees, and verdant citrus groves that seem to blossom with an intoxicating scent year around. Natural springs abound and villagers from Deir Istyia have enjoyed the valley with their families for hundreds of years. The villagers have also tended the olive and citrus groves for hundreds of years, working with nature to keep the valley pristine and sustainable.
The illegal settlements that now surround the Wadi Qana and dump raw sewage are a threat to the valley, and their ticky tac houses are an eyesore. But the Israeli government has decreed the area a “natural preserve” and under this guise has appropriated land and bulldozed hundreds of olive trees since 2002. Now, in an unconscionable act, on April 25, the Israeli Occupation forces invaded the Wadi Qana and left orders that 10 farmers destroy a total of 1,400 olive trees by May 1, 2012. This is the largest evacuation of trees ever perpetuated on the Wadi Qana Valley.

Villagers, IWPS, and other international and Israeli activists have mobilized a global campaign to save these trees and the livelihood they provide to the farmers and their families. It cannot be stressed enough that these groves do not hinder the natural beauty of the valley. What hinders the beauty are the illegal settlements and their raw sewage and their machine gun toting settlers.

On April 27, hundreds of villagers and activists gathered in the valley; after midday prayers we were taken on an informational nature walk through the valley. We were shown some of the olive trees slated for destruction. Most of the 1,400 trees are around 5 years old; a few were planted 2 years ago and some are about 7 years old. They targeted groves are dispersed throughout the valley. Ironically, it is only olive trees that are to be uprooted. As of yet, there is no order to demolish the citrus groves.
The villagers of Deir Istyia have vowed that they will not uproot their trees, even though they face heavy fines and or imprisonment if they do not. Beginning on April 30th, villagers and international and Israeli Activists will begin a 24 hour vigil in the valley to protect these precious trees from destruction.

---

Flood these offices with telephone calls, emails and texts. Let the Israeli government know the world cares about Palestine

Prime Minister’s Office: Benjamin Netanyahu
02-6705512 02- 5664838
PMO.HEB@it.pmo.gov.il

Ministry of Defense Ehud Barak Ehud Shani
03-6976663 03-6976218
pniot@mod.gov.il

Ministry of the Environment Gilad Erdan Yossi Anbar
02-6553701 02-6535958
pniot@sviva.gov.il

Department for nature preservation and national parks at the civil administration is Asaf Goldfeld
Telephone: 02-9977001
Fax: 02-9977337

Isaeli Army coordinator for Salfit Rami Barakat 09 792 2359

IDF Spokesperson Roni 03 608 0202

Israeli DCO
Ops room 09 775 9359/9218 02 970 4660
Salfit Liason 09 251 5688/ 059 925 9306
Commander 09 775 9219 / 0506 234 008

---