'Settlers uproot trees, police take no notice'

Akram Na'san, a Palestinian farmer from the village of al-Mugayyir in the Ramallah area, was less than surprised to find his olive grove destroyed Monday. The field remained barren, with virtually no trace of the 260 seedlings which had been planted.

Na'san is already accustomed to such sights. During a conversation with Ynet he related that in the last decade his crops have been uprooted almost 100 times. He blames settlers from the area for the sabotage and security forces for ill-treatment of the phenomenon.

"The last uprooting is the fourth sabotage this year in the same plot of land. This is perhaps the 100th case since 2001. After each incident I filed a complaint with the Coordination and Liaison

Administration and the Binyamin Police, and each time the case was closed due to lack of public interest or lack of evidence," Na'san said.

Field in al-Mugayyir where trees once stood (Photo: Courtesy of B'Tselem)

The farmer says he took photos of settlers from the Adei Ad outpost, whom he claims were responsible for the damage, while they allegedly destroyed trees. "I turned the photos over to B'Tselem and Yesh Din. Soldiers and police officers arrived and arrested the settlers, but the following day I already saw them in their homes unpunished."

Na'san said that the perpetrators weren't being judged severely. 

Following Ynet's inquiry, the Civil Administration confirmed that a complaint had indeed been filed.

"After the forces arrived at the scene and in light of the suspicious findings it was decided to launch an inquiry and the matter was turned over to Israel Police," the statement read.