Feature: Gaza farmers toil for living under Israeli threat

Beside the fence between the northern Gaza Strip and Israel, 33-year-old Palestinian farmer Shihab Shabat collects crops from his farm while monitoring an Israeli army watchtower on the borders overlooking his farm.

During this season, Shabat grows onions and potatoes in his farm in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.

He moves cautiously in his farm and hurriedly picks crops for fear that soldiers stationed in the lookout post would open fire at him.

In 2008, the Israeli army established a 300-meter no-go zone on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, to prevent militants from various armed groups from crossing the borders and carrying out armed attacks in the area.

Since then, the Israeli army has targeted any Palestinian attempting to approach the no-go zone.

Shabat told Xinhua that his farm is 700 meters away from the border fence, adding "it is really risky, not only for me but also for other farmers and workers who help me in my farm."

Shabat's livelihood depends solely on his farm. "My farm is the breadwinner for my children and family," he said, adding "I have to work in my farm despite the risk, death and danger surrounding it."

The young Palestinian farmer will soon finish picking onions and potatoes. Later, he will grow other kinds of fruits, such as watermelons which are in high demand during the coming summer season.

"All I hope for is that the Israeli army stops opening fire on our farms and razing them with bulldozers," said Shabat, adding "opening fire at anything that moves along the border area never ends day or night."

Farmers living by the border area said they can't stay for long in their farms because sudden escalation of violence is anticipated at anytime.

Palestinian farmer Abu Mohamed Ghussein, 42, told Xinhua that when he goes to his farm he feels the proximity of death. "When I go to my 30 dunums farm with my brothers in the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, I always feel tense and scared," he said.

"I usually go to the farm that is near the Israeli borders almost every day, but most of the time I return with no crops because I can't work. I spend my time watching the soldiers, assessing if they will open fire at me or not," said Ghussein.

Farmers living close to the border area are trying to adapt to the current situation. When they grow trees, they don't allow them to grow taller than them because they don't want to give soldiers an excuse to open fire at their farms.

But this measure prevents farmers from yielding a good harvest in their farms.

Official Palestinian figures indicate that 25 percent of lands in the Gaza Strip are close to the borderline areas between Israel. Farmers whose farms are located in these areas face difficulties in cultivating or even reaching their lands.

Saber Za'aneen works for a committee which coordinates protection for Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip. He told Xinhua that the farmers' suffering is increasing daily.

"I believe that the Israeli army stationed at the border areas is not there just for security reasons but also to target the core of the Palestinian economy in Gaza and tighten the siege that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip for the last eight years," said Za'aneen.

Meanwhile, Wa'el Thabet, director of the plants protection department at the Agriculture Ministry told Xinhua that the Israeli army attacked several lands in the past years damaging and burning most of the crops.

He revealed that Israeli army soldiers are also spreading potentially poisonous chemicals on the crops of Palestinian farmers near the borders.

As a result, large farm areas were badly damaged this season. "The Israeli army spreads chemicals to wipe out small bushes so as to have better visibility over the area," he explained.

"We contacted representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and briefed them of these measures which both endanger the lives of farmers living under the constant threat of army fire and destroys the Palestinian economy," said Thabet. Endit