In 2003 Israel started building the separation wall in the village of Al Naby Elias close to Qalquilia demolishing and isolating dozens of acres of farmland. In 2006 the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered re-route the separation barrier bringing it closer to the 1967 border thus freeing agricultural land.
The Agreement “Improvement of water resources management in the agricultural sector to guarantee food safety in the Palestinian Territories and Jordan,” funded by AECID, through the FPSC and PARC, helps farmers from this town to recover agricultural land through the installation of 6 km. pipelines, a pumping station and construction of a tank of 1000 m3.
Water is pumped from a nearby well to the tank and it is distributed to farmers. The distribution of water is regulated through a water users association formed under the Agreement. Fifty-three families benefit from the Agreement in the village of Al Naby Elias; they changed rain fed crops by irrigated in a total area of 70 hectares.
Where only olive trees were planted now they plant other types of trees such as almond trees and citrus plants and it is introducing the use of greenhouses, having more water available and all possibilities open to farmers. This crop diversity is impacting positively on family’s income according to Loai Kleef as one of the beneficiaries of this project.