Hundreds of farmers gathered at 10:00 AM at the UAWC office in Beit Hanoun, condemning the occupation for the so-called "buffer zone" and demanding international action to pressure the occupation to abolish this so-called "buffer zone," threatening farmers' much-needed and vital access to their lands.
Saad Eddin Ziadah spoke on behalf of the UAWC, saluting the steadfastness of the farmers and residents of the border areas of Gaza and demanding protection of citizens and farmers and that Israel end its threats and attacks against Palestinian people and land.
He called upon Palestinian, Arab and international institutions to raise the issue of the buffer zone and the suffering that it causes to farmers in Gaza in all Palestinian, Arab and international forums, to put pressure on the occupation and expose its crimes against farmers in Gaza. Finally, he called for national unity and reconciliation to provide support for our people in confronting the occupier and its crimes.
Zaki al-Masri spoke on behalf of the farmers' committees, describing the suffering of farmers in the border areas and the need for solidarity to raise this issue widely, in order to enable them to use and cultivate their land, the primary source of income for the farmers. He said that the farmers will never give up their rights to their land, despite the planes and tanks of the Israeli occupation.
He said that this bitter reality continues because of Arab and international official silence about these crimes, and forces farmers to demand an end to this silence, which provides implicit support to the occupation and its crimes. He demanded that Palestinian farmers' right to live in their land safely and securely must be protected, and called upon all human rights organizations in the world to confront these Zionist occupation crimes against our people.
The campaign plans to march every Thursday to the "buffer zone" to demonstrate solidarity with the people of the border, as part of a project to protect the right to life and the right to farm in Gaza.
