Husam 'Asi, age 38, farmer, resident of Far'un, Tulkarem District.
I live in Far'un and make a living from farming. My four brothers and I inherited a plot of land from our grandfather. The plot is eight and a half dunams large and has olive trees on it. The Israeli authorities built the separation fence on our village's land, and our plot is on the other side of the fence. In addition to the land that I inherited with my brothers, I own a two-dunam plot of citrus groves. That plot is situated in Khirbat Jabareh, on the other side of the fence, and I do not have access to it. As a result, the crop has suffered damage, and I have been thinking about selling that piece of land to somebody from Khirbat Jabareh.
During the recent olive-picking season, in October 2003, the Israeli District Coordination Office issued entry permits to some of Far'un's residents who had land on the other side of the fence. My brothers and I received permits that were valid for a month, to 14 November 2003. In early January, I submitted a request to obtain a permit to enter the seam area [the area on the other side of the barrier]. I attached a copy of my ID card, a document from the Palestinian Authority showing that I own the land, and a letter from the Village Council that stated I have land on the other side of the fence. I delivered the request to the Far'un Village Council and it forwarded it to the Palestinian DCO, which then passed it on to the Israeli DCO. Three days later, the Village Council gave me back the request and told me that the Israeli DCO denied it without giving a reason.
On 25 February 2004, I went to the Palestinian DCO and submitted a new request for an entry permit. I went back there four days later to check whether I had received the permit. I learned that the Israeli DCO rejected it, again without giving any reasons. On 21 March, I submitted another request through the Far'un Village Council. The Council forwarded it to the Palestinian DCO, but it returned the request because it did not contain a new proof of ownership of the land, for 2004. The proof has to be made in the form of a document issued by the Lands Registration Office in the Israeli DCO.
I should mention that, on 9 March 2004, I received a special permit to go to Beit El [where the Civil Administration offices are located] to request a building permit for my house. Because of the construction work on the fence, I had been given an order to stop construction, even though the construction has been completed and I have been living in the house since 1998. If I were a wanted person or if the DCO had any reason not to grant me a permit [for security reasons], they would not have given me the permit to enter Beit El.
Husam Salim Hassan 'Asi is 38 years old. He is single, and is a farmer and resident of Far'un, Tulkarm District.
The testimony was taken by 'Abd al-Karim S'adi at 'Asi's home on 1 April 2004.
