IOF troops block entry of foreign sympathizers into Jenin

October 22, 2006

Jenin - Foreign volunteers arriving at the Hamra Israeli roadblock were blocked by IOF troops manning that checkpoint from entering Jenin, north of the West Bank, to help Palestinian farmers in reaping their olive harvest.

The delegation members of the international solidarity movement, grouping French and Swedish nationals, said that they were held for several hours at the roadblock then ordered to leave the area after IOF soldiers claimed it was a closed military zone.

The members made several telephone contacts with international and humanitarian organizations asking them to pressure the occupation government to allow them access but to no avail.

The delegation issued a press release condemning the Israeli occupation authorities for such practices, charging that they fell in line with those authorities’ war on the Palestinian people.

It further asserted that the foreign volunteers would continue sending delegates to support the Palestinian farmers and to break the Israeli siege to their lands.

The Jenin inhabitants had addressed an urgent appeal to the world community to help them harvest their olive crops, which are their main source of income. The IOF banned entry of Palestinian farmers into vast areas of their lands adjacent to the separation wall.