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Uprooted olive trees
Photo: Nasser a-Nawaj'ah, B'Tselem
'Price Tag'?
Photo: Nasser a-Nawaj'ah, B'Tselem

'Price Tag': Olive trees uprooted near Hebron

Anonymous vandals mutilate Palestinian olive trees in West Bank, spray paint 'Halhul Price Tag,' Star of David. Incident occurs near location of last Friday's terror attack in Kiryat Arba

Anonymous vandals uprooted some 45 olive trees located on Palestinian land near the West Bank city of Hebron. IDF forces arrived at the scene on Thursday morning only to find a rock covered in spray paint with the slogan "Halhul Price Tag" and a Star of David.

 

Army officials also discovered footprints leading to a nearby settlement. A Palestinian farmer reported the incident, which led to the involvement of Israel's Civil Administration.

 

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The incident occurred near the location of last Friday's terror attack, in which Asher Palmer, 25, and his 1-year-old son, Yehonatan, were killed when their car overturned near Kiryat Arba. After an initial inquiry, the police ruled out the possibility that the accident had been caused by stones that were hurled at the vehicle by Palestinians.

 

But an examination of the father's body revealed fractures to his skull. "It was clearly a terrorist attack, Asher's gun had been stolen, there were rocks inside the vehicle and it was clear Asher was hit by a rock," Palmer's family said after police informed them of their conclusion that the incident was in fact the result of a terror attack.

 

Cover up?

MK Michael Ben Ari criticized the police for its conduct in the affair earlier this week. "The police spokesperson's office is serving Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) over fear of violent protests and did not report this as a terror attack."

 

Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan also slammed the IDF Spokesperson's Office for not explicitly stating that the deaths of Palmer and his infant son were the result of a terror attack. "There's no other way to put this, the IDF did not tell the truth to the public, the media or the bereaved family," he claimed.

 

"I am angry and deeply disappointed in the IDF, its commanders and spokesmen who covered up the murder. The IDF chose a dishonest, unwise and indecent path," he exclaimed.

 

Elior Levy contributed to the report

 

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.29.11, 13:54
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