NABLUS, Palestinian Territories: Palestinian farmer Mahmud Abu Shinar surveys two rows of severed olive trees — something he says has become a sadly familiar sight.
He didn’t see who took a chainsaw to them at night, but he blames residents of an Israeli settlement a few hundred meters (yards) away.
“We came on Sunday and were shocked that all these trees were cut down,” Abu Shinar said.
“I called the landowner. They came and the (Israeli) army and security forces came too. But of course, it was useless.”
Olives are perhaps the most well-known and abundant Palestinian product, with trees lining valleys and terraced hillsides throughout the occupied West Bank.
The first rains after the hot summer months are the signal for farmers to begin harvesting their crop, but it can come with risks.
In many places, farmers say they face intimidation and violence from nearby settlers and call in support from foreign and Israeli supporters, including Jewish rabbis, to protect them and their crops.
Some of the incidents are seen as attempts at revenge following Palestinian attacks on Israelis, even if the farmers targeted were not involved.
In other cases, say rights groups, there is little motivation other than just to destroy Palestinian property.
Some rights groups have distributed video footage of such incidents in a bid to pressure Israeli authorities to act.
Israeli settlers charge that their crops have also been damaged by Palestinians, including an incident in May when around 1,000 grapevines were allegedly destroyed.
More than 7,000 Palestinian-owned trees have been vandalized so far this year, according to the United Nations.
In the whole of 2017, it was less than 6,000, the year before only 1,600.
Abu Shinar said that in recent weeks around 200 trees had been destroyed in fields he works on near Ramallah in the central West Bank, costing thousands of dollars in lost earnings.
“They want the land,” he said, of the settlers. “Who else would come and commit a crime like this?”
The body that represents West Bank settlements said there was also an increase in attacks on Israeli-owned farms, labelling it “agricultural terror.”
Israeli police said they were “investigating a number of incidents when damage was caused to olive trees.”
“There have also been a number of complaints made by Jewish owners of fields of damage caused to olive trees.”
Patrols have been stepped up, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
But rights groups charge that Palestinian crops have long been vandalized by settlers without any serious effort by the authorities to stop it.
Around 400,000 Israelis live in settlements that dot the West Bank and range in size from large towns to tiny hamlets.
The international community considers them illegal.
A few dozen kilometers north of Abu Shinar’s trees near the city of Nablus, a small group huddles under a tree, picking through the leaves for olives.
Just 10 meters away stands an abandoned house daubed with Hebrew graffiti, while the Israeli settlement of Har Brakha is over a hill.
Israeli forces patrol the area, with one soldier telling the Palestinians they are “there to help.”
But the farmers said that two days earlier settlers had run down and damaged trees. They claimed the army is often slow to react and sides with settlers.
They invite international and Israeli supporters to attend the picking season to help protect themselves.
Retired British woman Caroline, who declined to give her full name, said she had been coming each year for a decade to work with Palestinian communities close to “particularly difficult settlements.”
This year, she said, she went with a female farmer to her land near a settlement, but the army blocked their path.
“When she eventually got into the groves, 100 of her trees had been chainsawed down by settlers. There weren’t even any olives for us to pick,” she said.
Rabbi Gil Nativ makes sure to wear his kippa cap as he picks olives to show Palestinians not all Jews support Israeli settlement expansion.
“Some (Israelis) consider us as traitors,” said Nativ, who volunteers for the Rabbis for Human Rights organization.
“For me the main principle of the Jewish faith is all men are created in the image of God and all human beings are descendants of the same Adam and Eve.”
Yigal Dilmoni, CEO of the Yesha Council which represents Israeli settlements, said in a statement to AFP that they “deplore all acts of vandalism and purposeful destruction of property.”
He highlighted a series of Palestinian attacks on Israeli settlements.
Olive tree sabotage plagues Palestinian farmers
Olive tree sabotage plagues Palestinian farmers
- Olives are perhaps the most well-known and abundant Palestinian product
- More than 7,000 Palestinian-owned trees have been vandalized so far this year, according to the United Nations
Arab League chief highlights need for Palestinian reconciliation in talks with Fatah delegation
- Spotlight on importance of prioritizing ceasefire, facilitating aid to Gaza
- Aboul Gheit emphasized the urgency of swiftly moving toward a political settlement that would pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state
CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit has emphasized the importance of pursuing all possible avenues to achieve Palestinian reconciliation.
He spoke as he welcomed a high-level delegation from the Palestinian Fatah movement in Cairo.
The talks followed the delegation’s separate meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
Aboul Gheit also stressed the importance of prioritizing a ceasefire and facilitating the delivery of aid to Gaza.
He emphasized the urgency of swiftly moving toward a political settlement that would pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Aboul Gheit said that the Palestinian National Movement served as an overarching platform for all factions, adding that Fatah had played an undeniable role in the Palestinian struggle over the decades.
He reiterated that unity among Palestinian ranks was indispensable for realizing the vision of a Palestinian state.
The Fatah delegation included Mahmoud Al-Aloul, the movement’s vice president; Rawhi Fattouh, the president of the Palestinian National Council; and Azzam Al-Ahmad and Samir Al-Rifai, members of Fatah’s Central Committee.
Jamal Rushdi, a spokesperson for Aboul Gheit, said that the secretary-general had listened to a presentation by Fatah leaders on the latest developments in the region.
Discussions centered on the war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and the violence faced by Palestinians by occupation forces and armed extremist settlers in the West Bank.
The Arab League’s chief stressed the role of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah in the struggle and spoke of the need to end the geographical and political division that had plagued Palestinians since 2007.
Aboul Gheit listened to the leaders and their strategies to bolster Palestinian resilience on their land, whether in the West Bank or Gaza.
He conveyed the Arab League’s unwavering support for the Palestinian Authority’s endeavors to harness global momentum in advocating for Palestinian rights.
He added that the Gaza catastrophe had revealed unimaginable brutality and a stark absence of humanity, which had elicited shock from conscientious people worldwide.
Aboul Gheit insisted that the world was now convinced of the inevitability of Palestinians achieving their right to self-determination and establishing an independent state.
This conviction contrasted sharply with previous notions that the Palestinian issue could be managed through “economic peace.”
Aboul Gheit spoke of the Arab League’s vision with the delegation, based on recent engagements with influential international actors close to recognizing the Palestinian state.
He stressed that the correct approach to negotiating a final settlement was to recognize statehood and attain permanent membership in the UN.
World court orders Israel to take action to address Gaza famine
- The ICJ said the Palestinians in Gaza face worsening conditions of life, and famine and starvation are spreading
- “The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine (...) but that famine is setting in,” the judges said
THE HAGUE: Judges at the International Court of Justice on Thursday unanimously ordered Israel to take all the necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies arrive without delay to the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The ICJ said the Palestinians in Gaza face worsening conditions of life, and famine and starvation are spreading.
“The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine (...) but that famine is setting in,” the judges said in their order.
The new measures were requested by South Africa as part of its ongoing case that accuses Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.
In January the ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.
In Thursday’s order the court reaffirmed the January measures but added Israel must take action to ensure unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance including food, water and electricity as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza.
The judges added that this could be done “by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary.” The court ordered Israel to submit a report in a month after the order to detail how it had given effect to the ruling.
‘Utmost importance’ for Israel, Lebanon to restore calm: US
- “Restoring calm along that border remains a top priority for President Biden,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said
WASHINGTON: The White House called Thursday on Israel and Lebanon to put a high priority on restoring calm after new deadly border crossfire and Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah.
“Restoring calm along that border remains a top priority for President Biden and for the administration and it has to be of utmost importance, we believe, as well for both Lebanon and Israel,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
UN ‘deeply disturbed’ by strikes on Lebanon rescue workers
- “Up to 11 civilians were killed in a single day, including 10 paramedics,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon
- “Attacks on health care violate international humanitarian law and are unacceptable”
BEIRUT: The United Nations on Thursday said it was “deeply disturbed” by attacks on health care facilities, a day after several strikes blamed on Israel killed 10 emergency rescue workers in southern Lebanon.
“The tragic events of the past 36 hours have resulted in a significant loss of life and injuries in south Lebanon. Up to 11 civilians were killed in a single day, including 10 paramedics,” said Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon.
There has been near-daily cross-border fire between Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, and Israel since Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in Gaza.
Lebanese groups say three separate Israeli strikes on Wednesday, including on a health center in the border village of Habariyeh, killed the 11 civilians.
“I am deeply disturbed by the repeated attacks on health facilities and health workers who risk their lives to provide urgent assistance to their local communities,” Riza added.
“Attacks on health care violate international humanitarian law and are unacceptable,” the UN official said in a statement.
Several militant groups in Lebanon operate health centers and emergency response operations.
Hezbollah said four of its fighters and two rescuers were killed in Wednesday’s strikes, while its ally the Amal movement said it had lost two members, including a rescuer.
An official from the Jamaa Islamiya militant group had earlier told AFP that “seven rescuers” were killed in Israeli strikes on the emergency center in Habariyeh.
The Israeli military said the target of one of the strikes was “a military compound” and those killed were Jamaa Islamiya militants.
It said a “significant terrorist operative” and other members of the group were planning attacks against Israel at the time of the strike.
Hezbollah responded to the deadly strikes by sending a barrage of rockets into northern Israel, killing one civilian in Kiryat Shmona on Wednesday.
The group on Thursday said they targeted the northern Israeli town of Shlomi and agricultural village of Goren in retaliation for the previous day’s attacks.
The uptick in violence has raised fears of a broader escalation in the conflict.
At least 346 people have been killed in Lebanon — mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also including at least 68 civilians — in clashes with Israel over the last six months, according to an AFP tally.
The fighting has also displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.
Nine people die in crash during Iran holiday season
- Police say 585 people have died on the roads since the start of a holiday season
- The latest accident in Semnan province saw two vehicles crash and catch fire
TEHRAN: Nine people were killed in a car crash in northeastern Iran on Thursday, the worst single accident since the start of the Persian new year holiday, state media reported.
Police say 585 people have died on the roads since the start of a holiday season that runs from 19 March to 1 April, and sees many Iranians travel to visit family.
The latest accident in Semnan province east of the capital Tehran saw two vehicles crash and catch fire, reported IRNA state news agency quoting the emergency services.
IRNA reported that the death toll for the holiday season last year was 1,217.
The high number of deaths has been blamed on the poor condition of parts of the road network, careless driving and the low quality of the vehicles.
A police official in 2022 accused local car makers of delivering “unsafe” vehicles to the public while charging them the same price as foreign companies.
Several overseas car firms quit Iran in 2018 after the US reimposed sanctions over the country’s nuclear program.