It's not the olive trees

[Englander]

By Amira Hass

There is something very human about these stumps of olive trees, hundreds upon hundreds of them, their amputated branches reaching skyward as if to ask for help. Last Friday, in Tawana in the southern Hebron hills, 120 trees; In Burin, south of Nablus, earlier this week, about 50 trees; another 100 or so in Burin on December 24; and 140 trees, again in Burin, on December 14.

The police have counted 733 trees that were uprooted in 2005. According to the (incomplete) list of 29 incidents of agricultural sabotage documented by the human rights groups Yesh Din and B'Tselem from March to December, a total of 2,616 trees were sabotaged: uprooted, stolen, burned, chopped, sawed. In Salem alone, 900 trees were uprooted four times. Even if those who counted the damaged trees exaggerated, both sides agree that it is Israelis who are damaging vineyards and plantations.

The accumulation over the past few months of images of trees destroyed "by unknown individuals" has been sufficiently shocking to lead the attorney general to attack the helplessness of the authorities, and for Minister Gideon Ezra to convene a special meeting during which it was decided to focus law enforcement activities "on the settlements that are recognized as problematic."

The shock, however, is selective. The Israel Defense Forces has uprooted thousands of olive and fruit trees, cultivated lands and greenhouses, and continues to do so - in order to secure the roads it uses and to increase visibility for soldiers; to build watchtowers, checkpoints and the separation fence; and in order to pave more and more roads and construct security fences around the settlements.

In the village of Qafeen alone, for example, 12,600 olive trees were uprooted for the separation fence. Thousands more trees - perhaps tens of thousands - and thousands more acres of the West Bank are trapped behind the walls and fences and buffer zones surrounding the settlements. In Qafeen alone, 100,000 trees are imprisoned behind the fence, and throughout most of the year their owners are prevented from reaching them. All they can do is gaze on the neglect from afar. The reason given is "security," of course, but for some reason security always ends up with the effective plundering of more Palestinian land for the benefit of the neighboring settlement, or in order to widen and blur the Green Line and the annexation of the land to Israel.

More at;
Haaretz

[applegrove]

1. That is a little scary! You have to wonder. Are the bushites going to

attack Syria and move Jordan, Lebanon and Syria - North into Iraq? And give Israel more land?

I wonder what the Poles think about that?

I'm just saying. Who would kill an orchard? Who would kill and orchard? No doubt rabit extremist settlers or some such animal.

I say - scarry.:sarcasm:

[Englander]

2. self - deleted.

[applegrove]

3. I'm making fun of rabits. And of whoever is killing trees. It isn't funny.

Sometimes one uses humour to punch through to a truth. In this case - what the hell is up with pulling up trees?

I don't think it is funny for the poor palestinian farmer. I don't think it is funny for Israel - they seem to have settled on a wall of sorts.

I don't think it is funny at all.

It is the type of thing Saddam did to people. Notably the swamp people.

It is persecution. Unless the farmer had a son who was a suicide bomber. In which case the trees would have been rightfully pulled up and destroyed in daylight.

Are you never shocked? Have not extremists done enough damage to peace in Israel & Palestine?

[Englander]

4. Rabbits or rabbis?

Or rabid rabbles?

All right, I see what you're getting at, now, I'll delete my comments.
I think there are better subjects to choose for making a point through
humour, but you're right, I've probably done the same thing myself.

[applegrove]

5. It started out as rabid extremists - and turned into rabbits. Rabbis were

never involved.