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NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Farmers in the Nablus village of Beit Furik tended their land last week for the first time in ten years, after Israel's supreme court ruled in favor of an appeal made in 2011, Israeli rights group Yesh Din said.

"Seeing farmers return to their lands after many years of a criminal denial of access is heartwarming," Yesh Din lawyer Michael Sfard said.

"I am glad that the Israeli legal system and an Israeli human rights organization, together with the village residents, were able to bring forth such results," he added.

Fences and barriers placed illegally around the Nablus settlement of Itamar and its surrounding outposts have prevented the residents of the village of Beit Furik from accessing their agricultural land for a decade, Yesh Din said.

With the help of the Israeli rights group, villagers and landowners petitioned Israel's High Court of Justice on August 22, 2011 to demand that residents be granted access to their land.

In its statement to the court, the Israeli state admitted the area had been closed off "improperly without an order," and ordered the military to regulate the closure of the area, which restored access to most of the village's agricultural land.

Villagers were also were awarded 7,500 shekels ($1,800) in damages.

"Regaining access to the land is very important for us in Beit Furik, our farmers are delighted to return after ten years of not being able to go to their own lands," Secretary General of Beit Furik Municipality Ahmed Mazen said.

"Next month the olive harvest begins, and the farmers will finally be able to pick the olives, to make olive oil, which will have a substantial financial impact," he added.
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