Occupied Jerusalem-Sana
Palestinian farmer Zuhair al-Bassiouni from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip stood shocked as he inspected his lands after being sprayed by Israeli occupation airplanes with toxic chemicals, destroying agricultural crops in one of hundreds of cases of Palestinians whose lands lie north and east of the besieged sector, and this was done in conjunction with the occupation's opening of rain water dams. Causing the dumping of large areas of agricultural land in the region and severe losses to farmers.
Al-Bassiouni told SANA correspondent: “The occupation deliberately destroys our agricultural crops, and it follows the policy of the scorched land and the spraying process that destroyed my 35-donum farm of vegetables and grains.” In addition, the chemicals used by the occupation cause damage to seeds and all crops and damage the soil for long periods of time. It leads to huge losses for farmers.
Al-Bassiouni pointed out that the spray of chemical pesticides sprayed by the occupation planes several times a year reaches a depth of 1200 meters east of the sector, which leads to the destruction of crops, the environment, water and animals, many of which died during the past days to deal with herbs that were subjected to the process of spraying with chemicals by the occupation.
For his part, the farmer, Saber Al-Za’aneen, explained that the crime of the occupation by spraying crops on lands east and north of the Gaza Strip with a length of 50 kilometers and a depth of hundreds of meters aimed at displacing the Palestinians from their lands, indicating that the spraying operations affected more than 23 thousand dunums from Beit Hanoun in the north to Rafah in the south.
Al-Za'anain pointed out that the daily journey of death experienced by the Palestinian farmers between the continuous shooting by the occupation and the crime of spraying agricultural lands with toxic materials and all the crimes of the occupation aimed at destroying the Palestinian economy will not detract from the resilience of the Palestinians who confirm their continued cultivation of their lands under the buzz of the occupation bullets.
The occupation’s targeting of agricultural lands in the Gaza Strip does not depend on chemicals. For the third time in ten days, it opened the dams and dumped large areas of agricultural lands that were planted with grains and vegetables, as part of the occupation’s policy based on the destruction of the capabilities of the Palestinian economy.
The farmer Tawfiq Hamad says: The occupation opened the dams on the valleys inside the occupied Palestinian territories in 1948, which caused the destruction of its lands planted with legumes, wheat and vegetables. The flowing water washed away everything in the place and its condition applies to many farmers who lost their fields, which is the source of their families' livelihood.
For his part, human rights researcher Hussein Hammad says: The Israeli occupation spraying crops with chemicals and opening dams to flood lands in the Gaza Strip is a war crime, especially since the area targeted by spraying with chemicals constitutes 25 percent of the area and most of the agricultural and environmental life is concentrated in this region because the area of the sector is small and in it High population density.
Hammad pointed out that the occupation planes sprayed chemicals at a low height and these pesticides reach a depth of 700 to 1200 meters inside the sector, indicating that types of materials used in spraying have been monitored, which are “glyphosate oxigal” and “durex”. These substances are classified as carcinogenic and cause deformities. Congenital for newborns In addition to that inhalation of Palestinians who live in the eastern regions of the sector have implications for serious and catastrophic health and environmental effects.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Israeli occupation authorities' opening the dams of rain water for the third time within ten days to flood agricultural lands in the Gaza Strip and spray them with harmful pesticides is an integral part of the occupation's aggression against the Palestinian people and a war crime and a crime against humanity calling for human rights and humanitarian organizations to lift this crime To the International Criminal Court and work to hold the occupation accountable for its crimes against the Palestinians in accordance with international law and the Rome Charter.
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