Muhammad Salim, farmer, aged 57, resident of Jayyus, Qalqiliya District.
I live in Jayyus and make a living from farming. My seven brothers and I inherited from our father a twenty-five-dunam plot of land. It lies on the western edge of the village and is spread out over several sections of the village: al-Qada, al-'Uqda, a-Salameh, al-Wad, and Safhat al-'Uqda. The land contains olive and citrus groves, and hothouses for growing vegetables.
My brothers and I worked the fields until the Israeli authorities completed building the separation fence in 2003. The fence has agricultural gates through which people who have land on the other side can pass. On 18 October 2003, the Israeli District Coordination Office issued entry permits to the farmers who have land on the other side of the fence. The residents were not required to submit a request for the permit. My brothers received permits, but my family [my wife, sons, and me] did not.
The Village Council told farmers who did not receive permits that we had to register our names and ID numbers with the Council, and that it would forward the list to the Israeli DCO, which would issue the permits. In late October, I went with my family to register, but this time too, the DCO did not give us permits. I do not know the reason: I have been working the plot since 1968.
During January and February 2004, I submitted several requests for entry permits for my family and me, but have not yet received a permit. The last time I submitted a request was in early March.
I think that the DCO has refused to issue us the permit as collective punishment. On 5 January 1998, Israeli authorities arrested my son, Ma'an, in Qedumim on charges of theft. Ma'an was later killed in a car accident that occurred when the army was moving him from detention in Qedumim to a detention site inside Israel.
I should note that farming is the sole source of income for myself and my family.
Muhammad Hassan Muhammad Salim, 57, is married with five children. He works as a farmer, and is a resident of Jayyus, Qalqiliya district. The testimony was taken by 'Abed al-Karim S'adi at Salim's home on 30 March 2004.
