Permission for a home

Walking towards our first olive field, we pass the remains of a house. We are near Bethlehem, not in an area enclosed by a wall or considered Israel. Yet, we are told, the house was demolished by the Israeli government's orders because the family living there did not have a permit from Israel to have a house there.

When we get to the farm, there is writing on the door of the small home there. The farmer has written his name and cell phone number on the door. He has already received a warning that his home could be demolished if he is not there. So he writes his contact information on the door so that if he needs to leave home -- for any reason, to run an errand, for example -- he hopes someone will call him before tearing his house down.

The reason his home is still standing (though with only a make-shift roof; he's not allowed to build a permanent roof) is because he has retained an Israeli lawyer who has won his case in Israeli court. But that is just the beginning of his struggles. The lawyer is also representing him in two other proceedings -- one to prevent the confiscation of his land and the other to respond to the Israeli government charging him a tax on each olive tree on his land. Luckily, he has documentation (which he shows us) dating back to 1931 showing his ownership, and documents, written in Hebrew, Arabic and English, recognizing both the government of Palestine, it's authority to grant title to the land, and the title itself. Many, we are told, are not nearly as fortunate to have accessed and retained documentation.

The cases, filed in 2006, are still pending. If he loses, the land we are standing on today and the trees from which we are harvesting olives, will become completely enclosed - he will be walled in, and the area will be considered Israel.