Hussein ‘Odeh (54), a father of six, owns an olive grove southeast of Huwarah, that is located between Road 60 and the army base, which is located about a kilometer from the road. On Friday morning, 6 November 2020, a farmer who was working on ‘Odeh’s land called him and told him that settlers had stolen the olive sacks and equipment left in the grove the day before - two ladders, 5 or 6 tarpaulin sheets, a small camping stove, and cups for coffee and tea.
About 120 20-year-old trees grow in ‘Odeh’s family grove. The Israeli military allows him access to it only during the plowing and harvest seasons. This year, the military gave ‘Odeh three days to harvest, from 3 to 6 November 2020. When he came to his plot on the last day of harvest, he discovered ATV tire tracks. About 100 kg of olives harvested the days before were stolen. ‘Odeh estimates that the oil extracted from the stolen olive was expected to sell for about 1,000 NIS (~305 USD). He reported the theft to the Huwarah municipality.
In a testimony he gave B’Tselem field researcher Salma a-Deb’i, Hussein spoke about the theft of his crop and farming equipment by settlers:
On the harvest days, I tend to come to the land several times a day to oversee a few residents who work in my plot. At the end of the day, I check the crop and then take the harvested olives and leave the ladders and other equipment in the grove for the next harvest day. The farmers usually leave the equipment in the grove during the harvest because there’s no point in taking everything home each day and then bringing it back in the morning. It takes up time and effort.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I took the crop home with me. But on Thursday, I couldn’t come to the grove, so the harvested crop stayed there along with the equipment: two ladders, 5 or 6 tarpaulin sheets, a small camping stove, and cups for coffee and tea. The next day, Friday, 6 November 2020, was supposed to be the last harvest day in the plot, but when my worker got there in the morning, he discovered the theft. I drove over there immediately and saw ATV tire tracks all over the plot – it looked like someone had driven around there with an ATV going back and forth. This is the first time something like this has happened to me since I bought this plot 11 years ago. We had to buy new ladders and tarpaulin sheets to finish the olive harvest.
There’s a military base close to the plot, so no one but the settlers could have done something like this. The military lets the settlers do whatever they want. During the harvest, I came across a military jeep that was standing near the plot. The soldiers asked me what I was doing there, and I told them I was the landowner and I was working it. It repeated itself about four times until they got used to seeing me there.