APN | Bethlehem
30 June 2025
APN has concluded the “Sumood” Project in a village located in the southern West Bank, within one of the largest Israeli settlement blocs. This strategic intervention aimed to support isolated farming communities and strengthen their steadfastness in the face of settlement expansion in one of the most vulnerable areas in Palestine, under constant threat of land confiscation.
Through this project, APN sought to achieve a number of key goals, foremost among them enhancing household food sovereignty, reinforcing people’s connection to their land to counter dispossession, improving livelihoods, and generating alternative sources of income to reduce dependence on the occupation-controlled economy. The project also carried a political and moral dimension by supporting the steadfastness of residents and helping them remain rooted on their land.
The project provided direct agricultural inputs to 37 farmers and families in the village. These included the planting of 3,441 fruit trees—grapes, citrus, and stone fruits—across 101 dunums of land, selected for their environmental suitability and high economic value. Additionally, comprehensive agricultural packages were distributed for home gardens, including irrigation and fertilization systems, water tanks, farming tools, organic fertilizers, seeds, and seedlings.
To support household food security, 45 families received poultry-rearing units equipped with chickens, feeding and watering systems, and fodder.
An intensive five-day training program was also implemented, with the participation of the village’s families. The sessions covered topics such as sustainable agriculture, soil and water management, compost production, preservation of local seeds, and the reuse of household organic waste in agriculture, all geared toward fostering autonomy and self-sufficiency.
APN noted that the next phase of the project will focus on addressing the village’s severe water crisis by rehabilitating rainwater harvesting wells, with the aim of improving agricultural productivity and strengthening the community’s resilience.
This project comes amid a deeply troubling reality, with 22 new Israeli settlements established in the West Bank, and nearly 600,000 Palestinians facing food insecurity according to 2024 data. Villages surrounded by settlement blocs, like the one targeted by this project, are a stark example of these conditions, lacking basic infrastructure, suffering from acute water shortages, and subjected to strict restrictions on movement and access to resources.
