AMMAN — Farmer Abdelrahman Qasem has faced Israeli aggression on his land in Palestine for over 30 years, with settlers continually putting pressure on landowners to sell their properties, and building houses in defiance of the law.

At a press conference on Wednesday organised by the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN), the 77-year-old farmer told activists, volunteers and journalists about his ongoing struggle to defend his land against the settlers.

Qasem’s 14-dunum farm in a small town in north Ramallah financially supports his seven-member family.

“In 1984, settlers fenced the land, and of course they didn’t tell us about it — it was published only in Israeli newspapers, which we can’t read,” he told The Jordan Times.

The farmer refused the $28 million that he was offered for his property that year.

“Even if they filled the land with money, I wouldn’t have accepted,” he said.  

According to Qasem, settlers sought his land to build more settlements and for “military purposes”.

“The settler who offered the money said I could ask for any amount… but I said the issue was non-negotiable.” 

Settlers sent Arab lawyers and others to convince him to give in and sell his land, but he rejected the proposal, saying: “In my opinion, the settlers are still better than you. If I were to negotiate the price, I would talk to them, not you.” 

The land was then confiscated by the municipality and Qasem was only informed about the decision afterwards.

“I found out that settlers built houses on it [the land], so I asked the mayor: ‘Would you let me build on it after it is confiscated? Why would you let them?’”

In October 2010, a court order banned both settlers and Palestinians from entering the area, but settlers kept building houses and disregarding the law, the farmer noted. 

Twenty-four Israeli families took up residence in two buildings constructed on his 14-dunum property, and activists and citizens living near the land kept informing him when settlers were preparing to build, Qasem said.

“In 2011 and 2012, the court banned settlers from entering. The buildings were destroyed by Palestinian activists and we consider this a victory.” 

A few years later, an American representative offered Qasem’s family US citizenship on the condition that they leave the land and migrate to the US, but he refused.

“I told him that my children and I don’t like America, it takes without giving, what would we do there?” he recounted.

“Israelis don’t know the meaning of a state — there is no terrorism greater than Israeli terrorism.” 

He described those who sell their lands to Israelis as “weak” and “easily manipulated”.

“When I die, I want my children and grandchildren to say that I died defending my land and they won’t sell it.” 

Speaking at the press conference, Lebanese singer May Naser noted that “people like Qasem deliver a message about the daily life of Palestinians. No matter how much media outlets try to highlight other news, Palestine will always remain our main conflict — we won’t forget.”

Among APN’s initiatives is a project that entailed planting more than 2 million trees since 2003 in Jordan and several cities in Palestine, including Gaza, Jerusalem, and the area around Qasem’s land.

Since 2001, Israeli occupation forces have uprooted more than 3 million trees across Palestine, according to an APN statement. 

“We planted more than 84,000 [trees] from the third million, benefiting almost 23,000 families in Palestine. We aim to plant 100,000 trees every year,” APN General Manager Mariam Al Jaajaa told The Jordan Times.  

“It’s not only environmental, it’s also for food security,” she added.