West Bank grove of olive trees cut

[Classical_Liberal]

West Bank grove of olive trees cut

By Laurie Copans
The Associated Press


EINABUS, West Bank — Men with chain saws destroyed Fawzi Hussein's olive grove overnight — 255 trees cut down at the trunks, fruit-laden branches wilting on a West Bank slope, at the height of the harvest season.

The suspected culprits: militant settlers who have been harassing Palestinian farmers for years, especially in the past three years of fighting. Human-rights groups say it's part of an attempt to drive Palestinians off their land.

The destruction of about 1,000 trees in three villages including Hussein's was unusually large-scale. It prompted an outcry in Israel, with settler rabbis calling it a sin and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promising to track down the vigilantes.

It also heightens fears that this kind of militancy — albeit of a tiny minority among the 220,000 Jews in the West Bank — is a harbinger of the resistance the Israelis could face if it tries to uproot settlements in a land-for-peace deal.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001789211_olives12.html

[Lithos]

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