Netiv Hagdud and Gilgal

Netiv Hagdud and Gilgal are two illegal Israeli settlements set back from Route 90 South of Fasayil and Tomer in the occupied Jordan Valley. Between the two settlements is a fenced agricultural area which exports fruit and vegetables internationally. Produce in Waitrose has previously been seen bearing the label ‘Netiv Hagdud’. In March Corporate Watch paid the two settlements a visit.
‘Kibbutz’ Gilgal is a small fenced residential settlement surrounded, in stark contrast to the serene and peaceful landscape around it, by barbed wire and watchtowers. Gilgal is flanked by fields of hundreds of date palms stretching West to the mountains. This area, West of Route 90, is a closed area for Palestinians, save for those working for the settlement. Gilgal was established in 1970 and has a population of about 160 on 1400 dunums of land.
Netiv Hagdud, West of Gilgal, was set up in 1975 and has a population of about 125 people.
Companies operating in the agricultural area:
Agrexco – www.agrexco.com: Agrexco trucks have been seen picking up produce from the agricultural area before driving through the West Bank toward Tel Aviv. For info on Agrexco see http://corporateoccupation.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/corporations-in-tomer-settlement/ and http://www.whoprofits.org/Company%20Info.php?id=584.

Arava – see http://corporateoccupation.wordpress.com/tag/arava/ and http://www.whoprofits.org/Company%20Info.php?id=549


Avniv – www.avniv.com – Avniv has a large packing house in the agricultural area between Gilgal and Netiv Hagdud. Avniv advertise grapes, Figs, peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and herbs. The company state that they export peppers to ‘Europe and Russia’. They also specify that Britain is one of their export markets.
Pictures of Gilgal Residential Settlement:



Fields near Gilgal: