Thousands Of Palestinian Olive Trees Are Destroyed By Israeli - TopicsExpress

Thousands Of Palestinian Olive Trees Are Destroyed By Israeli Settlers Each Year (IMAGES by Joe Fletcher) The United Nations monitoring group, the OCHA, reports that over 7,500 olive trees were damaged or destroyed by Israeli settlers between January and mid October in 2012. The “good news” is that that number is 2,000 fewer than were destroyed in 2011. Olive trees represent a major part of Palestine’s agricultural sector— supporting the livelihoods of approximately 80,000 families. Most of these olive trees are located in the West Bank. Instagram user zalameh posted this photo writing, “#3zbetSalman lost much of its land to the wall (pictured) and the Israeli colony of Oranit. The wall in this section is an electrified double fence. A significant proportion of the village’s population sneaks across regularly to seek work, proving how ineffective this wall really is and that its main purpose is a landgrab. The village still maintains close ties with the Palestinian villages of Jaljulya, Kafr Qassem and Kafr Bara, in the 48 areas (now Israel) where extended branches of their families live #palestine” The olive harvest season is underway right now. Palestinians must pass between barrier gates to harvest the olives. There are over 70 gates in the Israeli barrier. Approximately 20 of them are open for specific hours during the harvest season. They mostly remain closed for the rest of the year. In order to get past those barriers, Palestinians must obtain a permit. 42% of applications processed in 2011 were rejected. Many of the trees that are destroyed each year are hundreds of years old. Olive trees are an important symbol of peace among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, making their destruction especially heinous.