Israel Uprooted 7000 Olive Trees This Year

Thursday December 03, 2009 17:55 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Land Research Center reported that the Israeli Authorities uprooted 7000 olive trees in the occupied West Bank this year. 1455 trees were uprooted during the olive picking season.

Photo courtesy: Mazin Qumsiyeh

Fundamental settlers, heavily armed and protected by the army, also attacked, cut, burnt and uprooted more than 5500 trees.

The Center reported that 5720 trees were uprooted in Salfit district.
400 Olive trees were uprooted and burnt in Qalqilia district, 1600 trees were cut or uprooted by the settlers in Hebron district, and 30 olive trees were uprooted in Bethlehem.

These violations were carried out in conjunction of preventing the residents from harvesting their olives in several West Bank areas, as the orchards became isolated behind the Annexation Wall.

Dozens of residents were attacked by the settlers and the soldiers while trying to cultivate their lands or even while trying to reach their orchards.

Israeli settlers even distributed leaflets calling for preventing the Palestinians from cultivating their trees, and also calling for attacking the Palestinians and the international peace activists.

The leaflets further called for confiscating the cameras of international peace activists as they document the attacks against the villagers and their lands.

They also called on the settlers to cultivate the trees before the Palestinians can even reach them.

Head of the Land Research Center, Jamal Al Omla, said that the report exposes the Israeli violations and the lies of Benjamin Netanyahu and his government regarding settlement freeze.

Al Omla added that the existence of the settlers in the occupied territories is by itself an ongoing violation as Israel and the settlers want to force the Palestinians out of their homes and lands in order to expand and construct illegal settlements.

He called on the International Community to impose sanctions on Israel as it is ongoing with its violations against Palestinians, and is ignoring all international resolutions and the Geneva declarations.

west bank | israeli attacks | news report saed at imemc dot org