Israeli Army Eases Siege on Nablus

A picture taken early October 28, 2022 shows the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
A picture taken early October 28, 2022 shows the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
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Israeli Army Eases Siege on Nablus

A picture taken early October 28, 2022 shows the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
A picture taken early October 28, 2022 shows the Israeli checkpoint of Huwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)

The Israeli army on Friday announced a partial easing of the tight blockade it imposed on the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

The decision was not welcomed by settlers, who continued to hold rallies in various parts of the West Bank, protesting against what they called “the tolerance of Palestinian terrorism and the shedding of the blood of Jewish citizens.”

On Friday, the Israeli army removed two of the six checkpoints erected more than two weeks ago in the city’s vicinity.

The army justified its move by claiming that it had dealt a major blow to the Lions’ Den group.

At the same time, the military boasted that it killed “two terrorists” who turned out later to be members of the Civil Defense, which is part of the Palestinian Security Services.

Israeli circles justified the killing saying “it was done by mistake,” and that “the Israeli soldiers shot in self-defense, fearing that Palestinians had set up an ambush.”

The Palestinians deemed the killing a heinous crime.

The Israeli army had imposed a tighter siege on Nablus two and a half weeks ago, following an increase of operations and shootings.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Friday that after assessing the security situation in the West Bank, the army decided to change and ease the restrictions imposed on Nablus, by opening two entrances to the city on Thursday night, keeping four other entrances under strict procedures, and monitoring vehicles that leave the city.

Later, reports said the easing of the siege was carried out in coordination with the Palestinian security services, which informed Israel that a number of activists from the “Lions’ den” in Nablus had surrendered.

Meanwhile, the Israeli right and settler leaders lashed out at the military’s decision to ease the siege on Nablus.

They organized several demonstrations in the West Bank against the army and its chief of staff Aviv Kohavi.

Head of Shomron Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, said the “Israeli army’s decision to remove the roadblocks on the way out of Nablus is a political decision by the Israeli government, in which it abandons the lives of settlers in the northern West Bank and throughout the country.”

Meanwhile, right-wing journalist Yoni Ben-Menachem, who is close to opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, said the decision to lift the siege on Nablus is a mistake, and that it only encourages the Palestinians to carry out more operations.



‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanese farmer Abu Taleb briefly returned to his orchard last month to salvage an avocado harvest but ran away empty handed as soon as Israeli air raids began.

"The war broke out just before the first harvest season," said Abu Taleb, displaced from the village of Tayr Debba near the southern city Tyre.

"When I went back in mid-October, it was deserted... it was scary," said the father of two, who is now sheltering in Tripoli more than 160 kilometers to the north and asked to be identified by a pseudonym because of security concerns.

Abu Taleb said his harvesting attempt was interrupted by an Israeli raid on the neighboring town of Markaba.

He was forced back to Tripoli without the avocados he usually exports every year.

Agricultural regions in Lebanon have been caught in the crossfire since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah ramped up in October last year, a full-scale war breaking out on September 23.

The UN's agriculture agency, FAO, said more than 1,909 hectares of farmland in south Lebanon had been damaged or left unharvested between October last year and September 28.

The conflict has also displaced more than half a million people, including farmers who abandoned their crops just when they were ready to harvest.

Hani Saad had to abandon 120 hectares of farmland in the southern region of Nabatiyeh, which is rich in citrus and avocado plantations.

"If the ceasefire takes place within a month, I can save the harvest, otherwise, the whole season is ruined," said Saad who has been displaced to the coastal city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.

When an Israeli strike sparked a fire in one of Saad's orchards, he had to pay out of his own pocket for the fuel of the fire engine that extinguished the blaze.

His employees, meanwhile, have fled. Of 32 workers, 28 have left, mainly to neighboring Syria.

- 'Worst phase' -

Israeli strikes have put at least two land crossings with Syria out of service, blocking a key export route for produce and crops.

Airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon as insurance costs soar.

This has dealt a deadly blow to agricultural exports, most of which are destined for Gulf Arab states.

Fruit exporter Chadi Kaadan said exports to the Gulf have dropped by more than 50 percent.

The supply surplus in the local market has caused prices to plummet at home, he added.

"In the end, it is the farmer who loses," said Saad who used to earn $5,000 a day before the war started. Today, he barely manages $300.

While avocados can stay on the tree for months, they are starting to run out of water following Israeli strikes on irrigation channels, Saad said.

Citrus fruits and cherimoyas have already started to fall.

"The war has ruined me. I spend my time in front of the TV waiting for a ceasefire so I can return to my livelihood," Saad told AFP.

Gaby Hage, a resident of the Christian town of Rmeish, on the border with Israel, is one of the few farmers who decided to stay in south Lebanon.

He has only been able to harvest 100 of his 350 olive trees, which were left untended for a year because of cross-border strikes.

"I took advantage of a slight lull in the fighting to pick what I could," he told AFP.

Hage said agriculture was a lifeline for the inhabitants of his town, which has been cut off by the war.

Ibrahim Tarchichi, president of the farmers' union in the Bekaa Valley, which was hit hard by the strikes, believes that agriculture in Lebanon is going through the "worst phase" of its recent history.

"I have experienced four wars, it has never been this serious," he said.