On
Saturday 9th of February in the Zaytoun district on the outskirts of
Gaza City, hundreds of local farmers and fishermen were joined by the
Union of Agricultural Work Committees and activists from International
Action for Palestine as they participated in the International Day of
Action for the Boycott of Israeli Agricultural Products. They marched
to Palestinian farmland in the 'buffer zone' near the eastern border of
the Gaza Strip and planted olive trees on razed farmland which had
previously contained vast numbers of olive and citrus trees until they
were bulldozed by the Israeli army in recent years.
Today's
demonstration affirmed the call by Palestinian
agricultural organisations and the Palestinian BDS National Committee
for worldwide campaigns to boycott Israeli agricultural products and
Israeli agricultural export corporations. These
companies are deeply complicit in Israel’s ongoing violations of
international law and Palestinian human rights. Whilst they profit from
stolen Palestinian land, Palestinian farmers are unable to export
their own produce, thereby crippling the Palestinian agricultural
sector.
