War crime? Israel destroys Gaza crops with aerial herbicide spraying
Gaza farmers have lost 187 hectares of crops to aerial spraying of herbicides by Israel hundreds of meters within the territory's borders. The action, carried out in the name of 'security', further undermines Gaza's ability to feed itself and may permanently deprive farmers of their livelihoods. It may also represent a war crime under the 1977 Protocol to the Geneva Conventions.
Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip have reported that Israeli military planes had sprayed their land with herbicides on three days last December.
The spraying, conducted by crop-dusting aircraft, covered areas up to 200 meters west of the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Moreover, due to the prevailing winds at the time of the spraying, extensive damage was also caused to crops and farmland a further 200 meters further inside the Gaza Strip.
Crops affected include wheat, barley, zucchini, aubergine, fava beans, peas, green pepper, parsley, watermelon, cabbage, spinach and bitter vetch, grown as fodder for sheep. An area of 187 hectares of crops is reported as being destroyed or damaged.
The spraying has had a devastating effect on the farmers by imposing on them total or near total loss of farm income, leaving many of them deep in debt for the cost of agricultural inputs.
As well as suffering the immediate loss of crops and income, some of the farmers may now be forced out of agriculture altogether, unwilling to repeat the risk of losing their crops again.
The spraying extended from the center of the Gaza Strip to the south, from areas to the east of al-Bureij Refugee Camp to land east of Khuza'ah. This action was undertaken despite the fact that in 2014, the military informed Palestinians that they could farm land up to 100 meters from the fence.
It is not known what herbicide was used. In their testimonies (shown in full below) farmers speak of a "white substance " and a "thick substance" being sprayed by a yellow-colored airplane that left "white stains " on leaves that spread rapidly through the plants causing them to wilt and "burn" in the hot sunshine
[The wlhole report in the link on top]
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