Dozens of olive trees felled in suspected settler violence

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 11, 2015 | Edit

Two incidents in the West Bank leave upwards of 60 olive trees severely damaged, according to human rights organizations.

Vandalized trees in the West Bank village of Yasuf, January 11, 2015. (Photo by Zakariya Sadeh/Rabbis for Human Rights)

Dozens of Palestinian-owned mature olive trees were felled in a suspected settler attack Saturday night in the West Bank, according to two Israeli human rights organizations.

Villagers discovered the vandalized trees on lands belonging to the village of Yasuf, in the central West Bank in between the Israeli settlements of Rehelim and Kfar Tapuach.

Vandalized trees in the West Bank village of Yasuf, January 11, 2015. (Photo by Zakariya Sadeh/Rabbis for Human Rights)

Rabbis for Human Rights called on Israeli authorities to make every effort to quickly find those responsible and bring them to justice.

Over the weekend, Palestinians in the south Hebron Hills discovered that some 40 olive trees had been felled, presumably an act of vandalism by local settlers.

Israeli soldiers and Palestinian villagers inspect damage to olive trees in the south Hebron hills, January 9, 2015. (Photo by Lanser Nawajeh/B’Tselem)

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there were 329 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians and their property in 2014 — an average of six each week.

Most of those cases go unsolved by Israeli authorities. Only 7.4 percent of investigations into settler attacks on Palestinian property result in indictments, according to data from human rights group Yesh Din. Many more incidents are never investigated.

Two extremist settlers were, however, sentenced to a record 30 months in prison last month for setting Palestinian-owned cars on fire.

In that case, the Israeli military declared the two to be members of an “illegal association,” which allowed interrogators to deny them access to attorneys following their arrest.

Their attorneys accused Israeli authorities of subjecting them to “undue pressure and abuse under interrogation.”

While settler violence has become a more high-profile phenomenon in recent years, the very existence of settlements — illegal under international law — leads to physical and structural violence against local Palestinians.

From land seizures to restrictions on freedom of movement to separate and unequal criminal and civil legal systems for Palestinians, the existence and expansion of even those settlements “legal” under Israeli law, violates Palestinian rights.

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Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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