Maliha Nassar.. A Palestinian woman confronts settlement expansion by cultivating medicinal herbs in Jericho

Palestinian citizen Maliha Nassar wages a daily battle for survival on her land in the city of Jericho, east of the West Bank, where she insists on continuing cultivation despite the siege imposed by three expanding settlement outposts. Nassar travels long distances and many kilometers to reach her land, defying harassment from settlers and the occupation army who try in every way to deter her from continuing her agricultural project.

Since 2020, Maliha has succeeded in transforming arid land into a productive green paradise, specializing in the cultivation of aromatic plants and medicinal herbs that now find their way to local and international markets. Nassar believes that her presence in this sensitive area represents a "thorn in the side" of settlement plans that seek to transform the region into an exclusively settlement area, devoid of Palestinian presence.

The Palestinian woman faced harsh conditions imposed by the occupation authorities, including banning access to the land at certain times and her repeated detention, in addition to closing roads leading to her farm. Sources confirmed that settlers cut off water supplies to the land for three consecutive months, which led to the drying up of large areas of crops and significant damage to palm trees.

Despite these severe material losses, Maliha did not stop working. Instead, she introduced the cultivation of strong desert plants such as "Moringa," which she describes as a miracle plant for its ability to withstand harsh climatic conditions. She also works on producing sage, thyme, and wild thyme, and through this, she seeks to preserve the authentic Palestinian plant wealth and export it as a message of steadfastness to the entire world.

Nassar endures the hardship of traveling from her home in Ramallah to Jericho via rough roads and Israeli military checkpoints where she may have to wait for long hours. Maliha describes the scorching desert climate and the continuous objections from settlers as a deserved price for protecting the land, noting that the presence of steadfast Bedouin communities in the area gives her the determination to continue her journey.

Maliha recounts provocative incidents she has faced, including settlers objecting to her wearing a shirt with the name "Palestine" and the Keffiyeh emblem, emphasizing that these symbols provoke the occupation, which seeks to erase national identity. She stressed that true resistance at this stage is actual presence on the land and cultivating it, and not succumbing to forced displacement policies.

In the absence of a comprehensive national plan to enhance the steadfastness of farmers in friction areas, Nassar indicates that citizens face the occupation machine as individuals, which exposes them to the risk of killing or direct assault at any moment. She expressed hope that the world would pay attention to the suffering of Palestinian farmers and provide the necessary legal and material support to enable them to stand firm against settlement encroachment.

Maliha's story comes in the context of terrifying figures documented by official reports, where the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission has monitored a systematic escalation in attacks since the beginning of 2024. In April alone, more than 4,400 olive trees were vandalized, poisoned, and uprooted by occupation forces and settlers, in an attempt to undermine the economic foundations of Palestinians.

Statistical data indicates that settler attacks have exceeded 2,000 since the beginning of this year, resulting in the martyrdom of 15 citizens by direct settler gunfire. These figures reflect a state of security anarchy enjoyed by settlers under the protection of the Israeli army, with the aim of intimidating the indigenous population and forcing them to leave their lands.

Since the outbreak of the war of annihilation on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the scope of displacement in the West Bank has expanded to include 79 Bedouin communities whose residents have been fully or partially displaced. These communities include more than 4,700 citizens who found themselves homeless after the escalation of armed attacks targeting their tents, livestock, and basic livelihoods.

According to Palestinian reports, about 42% of the West Bank's area is now subject to various settlement procedures, with about 770,000 settlers residing in more than 430 settlement sites and random outposts. These data confirm the magnitude of the challenge faced by women like Maliha Nassar, who insist that the land belongs to its original owners and that the strangers will eventually leave.

If they try to remove Palestine from the map to erase the Palestinian presence, our role is to resist in this battle and stay here, on this land.