Farmer story – Ahmed Barghouth (Abu Nidal) – Al-Walaja

Category: Campaign Farmers' Stories Created: 15 July 2010

Abu Nidal farmerAhmed Barghouth (Abu Nidal) was one of the very first farmers to plant olive trees from the Olive Tree Campaign in 2002. His family harvested olives from these trees two years ago and the following season looked promising. However, in 2010 he witnessed vast destruction of his agricultural land. "Is this the fate of my land and my family?", Abu Nidal asked while watching bulldozers destroying his land and uprooting his trees in June. The building of the illegal Apartheid wall on his 20 dunums of land will leave him with only two dunums destroying what will be left.

Abu Nidal is a resident of Al Walaja located North of Behlehem, where the local community has suffered the loss of thousands of dunums of land. Construction of the wall will completely isolate Al Walaja from other Palestinian villages and furthermore, 90% of the villages' land has now been destroyed and illegally annexed to Israel.