PCHR
Jamal Swailem lives in the northern Gaza Strip, just 400 metres from
Erez Crossing, in the background.
Palestinian Center for
Human Rights (PCHR)
Whenever he stands at his front door, or looks
out of an upstairs window, Jamal Swailem can
clearly see Erez Crossing. His house lies just
400 metres from Erez, close enough for him
to see pedestrians walking through the crossing
into Gaza; and also close enough for the Israeli
Occupying Forces (IOF) to see every move the
Swailem family make.
Jamal Swailem has lived in the same house
all his life. He's now forty nine, and has 6
children, who are all at home with him and
his wife. His father, Abu Jamal, who is ninety
years old, has lived next door all his life.
Another two brothers and their families
live just metres away. Altogether, there are
forty members of the Swailem family living
in a row of four houses, almost adjacent to
Erez Crossing. They own a small amount of
land, around 17 donums, between them, and
farm it together.
"We used to have citrus trees" says Jamal Swailem.
"We had groves of orange and lemon and grapefruit
trees, and guava as well, because the land here is very
rich. Some of the trees were fifty years old. The first
time the Israelis bulldozed our trees, we immediately
re-planted all of them. When they bulldozed the
trees again, we replanted them all again. They
[the Israelis] damage and destroy, and we rebuild.
This is our life. But the third time they bulldozed
our trees, we decided to grow vegetables
instead."
The destruction of civilian property, including
agricultural land, is illegal under international
human rights and humanitarian law, including the
Fourth Geneva Convention. The Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights (PCHR) investigates and
documents human rights violations across the
Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including
IOF destruction of agricultural land in the Gaza
Strip. Since 2000, the IOF have destroyed more
than 38,000 donums of agricultural land in Gaza,
deliberately depriving thousands of Palestinians
families from earning a sustainable living.
The Swailem family now earn a subsistence
living growing tomatoes, potatoes and other
vegetables. Jamal's home is scarred with
bullet holes inside and out. He says the IOF
indiscriminately shoot at their house
whenever they invade the area. His family
has survived numerous IOF incursions, and
Jamal says they live with the constant
threat of yet another incursion.
"They [the IOF] come in tanks" he says.
"Sometimes they just come to this area,
sometimes they're on their way to Beit Hanoun
town, but they always pass here. At times my
family has to stay in one room for more than
2 days, to try to be safe. It's extremely dangerous.
" Jamal's 15 year old son, Imad, sits at his father's
side. "Our life here is tension, fear and total
instability" he says. "At any moment I
expect death."
Imad says the family cannot go outside after 5pm
because the incursions are mainly at night. "We
lock the door and stay in" he says. "We don't
have visitors, because people are afraid to come
here." Two years ago, the IOF shot and killed a
neighbour living opposite their house. But the
Swailem family remain adamant they not be
driven from their land. "I have lived here almost
fifty years, and my father has been here for almost
a hundred years" says Jamal. "This is our land
and we are going to stay."
Just a few small fields away from the Swailem family
, a woman called Samara is at home, nursing a small
miracle. Samara, who also lives dangerously close
to Erez Crossing, was eight months pregnant when
she became sick and breathless. Her husband called
an ambulance, but the paramedics refused to come
to the house. According to Samara, they were
afraid of being shot by the IOF, who had warned
them not to approach the border area after dark.
They said they would wait for her 800 metres away.
Samara's family bundled her onto a donkey cart, and
slowly wheeled her towards the ambulance. "
I started to bleed, and lost a lot of blood before I
got to the ambulance" she says. "I was in a very
serious condition, and lost consciousness. But,
Thank God, my baby survived and he's fine."
Her son, Nahed, is now 2 weeks old.
International human rights and humanitarian law
stipulates that medical personnel should under no
circumstances be the object of military attack.
However, in spite of their protected status under
international law, PCHR has documented
numerous attacks against Palestinian
medical personnel.
The experiences of these two families reflect the
dangers and violations facing dozens of Palestinian
families and small communities living in the
northern Gaza Strip. But, despite living in one of
the most dangerous places in Gaza, Samara and
her family are, like Jamal Swailem and his, adamant
they will not leave. PCHR continues to document
human rights violations across the OPT, and to
demand that civilians be granted their basic human
right to live in safety and security on their own land.
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© 2008 Palestinian Center for
Human Rights (PCHR)
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