"Apples are the mainstay of the local economy," says Mohammed Safadi, who
works for the ICRC office in the occupied Golan.
Occupied Golan: ICRC supports local communities by transporting apples "Apples are the mainstay of the local economy," says Mohammed
Safadi, who works for the ICRC office in the occupied Golan.
"The income from this crop is very important to the local communities." The ICRC is in the process of transporting 10,000 tonnes
of apples from the occupied Golan into Syria proper.
The organization is acting in its capacity as a neutral intermediary and at the request of local farmers and the Syrian and Israeli
authorities.
The operation is being coordinated with all the parties concerned.
The apples are transported from warehouses in the occupied Golan to the Israeli checkpoint at the
Kuneitra crossing.
Then they are transferred to three ICRC trucks and delivered to buyers waiting on the Syrian side.
The operation is expected to last at least six weeks.
This is the third year that the ICRC has conducted such an operation at the Kuneitra crossing.
In 2005, it transported 4,000 tonnes and last year close to 5,000 tonnes.
The organization has been carrying out humanitarian activities in the occupied Golan since 1967 and has maintained a permanent presence there since 1988.
In its role as a trusted neutral
intermediary, it provides a range of services addressing problems that arise from movement restrictions imposed on the population, as well as legal and administrative difficulties resulting from the
occupation.
For further information, please contact:
Carla Haddad, ICRC Geneva, tel +41 79 217 32 26
Bernard Barrett, ICRC Jerusalem, tel +972 52 601 91 50
Yael
Segev-Eytan, ICRC Tel Aviv, tel+972 52 275 75 17
