Palestinian women resist agriculture in Hebron: this land is for us

Agriculture takes a new form of resistance in the West Bank, where nine Palestinians in the town of Beit, north of Hebron, seek to protect their lands from the accelerated settlement crawl. Wafa Abu Maryam, one of the participants in the agricultural project, confirms that the love of the land is “implanted in us from childhood”, noting that its land was the main source of income for her family for 25 years, and today she has become the only source of livelihood in light of the Israeli war on Gaza and the worsening economic crisis.

Women are cultivated about five dunums with vegetables and grapes, and they face attacks daily at the adjacent “Gush Etzion” gathering. Abu Maryam says: “We live the unknown, as the annexation is carried out daily on the ground, but we will remain and we will not leave.”

Her colleague Amal Salibi believes that their project is a “great task”, stressing that their presence and cultivation constitute a dam in front of the settlement. Women are not satisfied with vegetables, but also produce traditional cuisine, such as pickles and tomatoes, in an attempt to combine economic survival and daily resistance.

This comes in light of repeated Israeli statements about plans to include up to 82% of the West Bank, and to separate the city of Hebron from the Palestinian Authority areas. Despite the risks, women insist on clinging to their land: “This land, air and water are only for us,” says Abu Maryam.

(Anatolia Agency)