Palestinians: Settlers cut down at least 20 olive trees
'We warned all of the human rights groups and were certain the settlers would allow the olive harvest to take place peacefully,' West Bank villager says
Palestinian farmers from the West Bank village of Gith claimed on Monday that Jews from the settlement of Havat Gilad had cut down at least 20 of their olive trees.
The Palestinians have yet to file an official complaint, but Judea and Samaria District Police officials said they would look into the matter.
"We can only approach our olive groves in coordination with police and IDF forces," 64-year-old Nasser Sachan told Ynet. "Today I arrived at the groves and couldn't believe my own eyes. The trees, some of them 40 and 50 years old, had been chopped down."
Destroyed ollive tree in Gith (Photo: Rabbis for Human Rights)
According to Sachan, the IDF and police should have acted preemptively to prevent the damage. "We warned all of the human rights groups and were certain that the settlers would allow the olive harvest to take place peacefully," he added.
Residents of the Havat Gilad settlement denied the Palestinian allegations suggesting that they cut down olive trees in Gith.
"One wonders how left wing organizations, which are so busy attacking soldiers in Naalin, have suddenly become the protectors of the law," said a settlement statement.
In a report published Sunday, the Rabbis for Human Rights organization presented at least three cases in which settlers interrupted the harvest. According to the group, Jews blocked roads leading to the groves and even opened fire at a Palestinian farmer.
The harvest in the village of Kedumim was halted on Sunday due to settler disturbances, and settlers from Shvut Rachel prevented Palestinians from approaching their olive groves.
"The settlers blocked our path despite the fact that we had organized our arrival with the District Coordination Office and obtained the necessary permit," said Nabil Badui from the village of Qrayut, situated between Ramallah and Nablus.
"Only at around 12:30 pm police forces cleared the path for us."
Badui claimed that despite owning two acres of land and 155 olive trees, the Israeli District Coordination Office gave him a permit to harvest only 55 of them.
