Legal petition for the eviction of Moshe Sharvit’s outpost filed amid international sanctions
Emek Tirzah Farm (Moshe’s Farm), 2024
Peace Now reports on 23 May 2024:
Peace Now, along with Jordan Valley Activists, filed a petition with the Supreme Court yesterday (22.05.2024), demanding that the state enforce demolition orders issued against the structures in the illegal outpost known as “Moshe’s Farm,” also referred to as “Emek Tirzah Farm.” Since its establishment, the outpost has been a hub of violence and daily harassment against Palestinian shepherd communities. Some families were even forced to flee their homes due to threats and harassment from the outpost’s residents. Recently, the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada have imposed sanctions on the farm and its founder, Moshe Sharvit.
The court has given the state 45 days to respond to the petition.
Peace Now: “Settler violence in these agricultural outposts is not a bug, it’s a feature. The government supports these outposts, nurtures them and allows them to seize land and expel Palestinian residents from the entire area. The government does nothing to stop these crimes, and it’s time for the court to compel it to enforce the law.”
In late 2020, Moshe Sharvit established an agricultural farm in the Jordan Valley, approximately 1.5 kilometers southeast of the Hamra settlement. By 2021, when the farm had only a few buildings, the Civil Administration issued demolition orders for all the structures, which were built illegally without permits or approved building plans. Despite the demolition orders, the farm continued to expand. Today, in addition to a flock of sheep and several residential buildings, the farm includes a guest lodge for travelers and an event complex. According to the farm’s website, the lodge can accommodate up to 100 people and features air-conditioned tents, restrooms, showers, a fully equipped kitchen, a pool, and a suite built inside a truck—all without permits and in violation of the law.
Since the farm was established, the lives of the surrounding Palestinian shepherd communities have become unbearable, to the point that some have been forced to flee their homes. Moshe Sharvit and other young people from the farm go out daily to drive away Palestinian herds and prevent them from reaching grazing areas. The Jordan Valley Activists group, a group of Israeli volunteers who invest their time and energy in trying to assist and protect the Palestinian shepherd communities in the Jordan Valley, began accompanying the shepherd communities near Sharvit’s farm immediately after the farm was established. They go to the grazing areas with the Palestinian shepherds, document the harassment and attacks, try to prevent harm to the Palestinians and reach out to the police. The Jordan Valley activists have accumulated testimonies and videos of dozens, if not hundreds, of incidents of harassment and violence by the farm residents, for which dozens of complaints have been filed with the police.