Ghassan Najjar

Ghassan Najjar is a Palestinian human rights defender, farmer and veteran grassroots organiser from Burin, South of Nablus. His work focuses on defending Palestinian farmer’s access to their agricultural land and strengthening community resilience in the face of Israeli occupation, settler violence and displacement. He is a co-founder of the Burin Land and Farming Cooperative, which promotes agroecology, food sovereignty, environmental justice and mutual aid. Ghassan Najjar’s other initiatives include the Burin Kite Festival and the creation of the Sumud Network.

Both form an important part of Palestinian resistance and reaffirm their connection to the land. Ghassan Najjar has spent nearly a decade in Israeli prisons, much of it under administrative detention, and has been subjected to a travel ban imposed by Israeli authorities since 2011. Despite this, he has continued his human rights work in support for Palestinian communities.