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8/26/2002 (9:06) |
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GAZA, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Palestinian Authority Minister of Agriculture Rafiq Natsheh said Monday that Israeli security measures have cost Palestinian farmers thousands of acres of farmland and at least $1 billion.
Natsheh also warned that Israeli policy of tightening closures and incursions into the Palestinian cities and villages 'would lead to an agricultural and economic catastrophe in the Palestinian territories.'
He told the Ramallah-based Al Ayyam Daily that the Israeli measures had raised the rate of unemployment in the territories to more than 50 percent, and brought the rate of people living under poverty line to 70 percent.
'The Israeli army incursions and reoccupation of cities within the last two years had stopped the implementation of many funded projects in the filed of agriculture,' he said.
Natsheh said despite claims by the Israeli government of easing restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, the new figures show that Palestinian merchants and farmers are facing a crisis.
In Dier El Ballah, near the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom in the central Gaza Strip, Salah Abu Houli, 42, has seen his land along with hundreds of oranges, grapefruit and olive trees bulldozed by Israeli troops since the intifada began in September 2000.
'My land was the only source of living not only for me and my family, but also for about 35 people, including my brothers, their children and my parents,' Abu Houli said. 'Now we have no other sources (to make a) living.'
He added: 'Even if I get financial compensation, the money would never bring me back my beautiful fruit trees that I irrigated with my blood during all my life. The only job I can do is farming, and I can not do anything else.'
On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority Agriculture Ministry blamed the Israeli army for the destruction of several thousand acres of farmland in the Gaza Strip in the last two years.
In a statement, the ministry also claimed the Israeli army had destroyed some 113,664 olive and citrus trees in addition to demolishing 100 greenhouses in the Gaza Strip.
The destruction has had a dramatic affect on food prices in the Palestinian territories. Abu Houli explained that before the intifada a liter of olive oil was sold for $3, now that same liter costs $5.
Copyright © 2002 United Press International. All rights reserved.
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