PHOTOS: Hundreds of olive trees destroyed near West Bank village

Edo Konrad By Edo Konrad November 1, 2013 | Edit

Nearly 230 olive trees were destroyed earlier this week in the northern West Bank. According to B’Tselem, an Israeli NGO that documents human rights violations in the occupied territories, the trees belonged to the Radwan family from the village Azzoun, and were planted no more than five years ago.

The family began harvesting the trees, which lie near the junction of Karnei Shomron and the village Kufr Latif, just yesterday, leading them to suspect that they were destroyed shortly thereafter or during the early hours of the morning.

PHOTOS: Hundreds of olive trees destroyed near West Bank village
Destroyed olive trees belonging to the Radwan family from the West Bank village of Azun. (photo: ‘Abd al-Karim Sa’adi/B’Tselem)

The destruction comes at the height of the tense olive harvest season, which has seen a dramatic rise in settler attacks against Palestinians and their olive trees. According to Rabbis for Human Rights, nearly 2,000 Palestinian olive trees have been destroyed in recent months in areas the Israeli army knows to be flash points.

PHOTOS: Hundreds of olive trees destroyed near West Bank village
Destroyed olive trees belonging to the Radwan family from the West Bank village of Azun. (photo: ‘Abd al-Karim Sa’adi/B’Tselem)

According to Yesh Din, between 2005 and 2013 just 8.5 percent of investigation files ended in the indictment of Israelis suspected of harming Palestinians and their property. In the vast majority of cases, the investigators failed to locate the offenders or to collect sufficient evidence for prosecution. Thus, the chances that the police will catch the vandals is nearly zero.

PHOTOS: Hundreds of olive trees destroyed near West Bank village
Israeli soldiers stand near the destroyed olive trees belonging to the Radwan family from the West Bank village of Azun.

Read more:
Settler violence: Think of it like burning down a Jewish business
For Israel’s police, settler violence is but a fantasy
WATCH: Masked settler beats Palestinian with metal pipe
Fact sheet: Israeli police fail to prosecute violence against Palestinians

Edo Konrad

Edo Konrad is the current editor-in-chief of +972 Magazine. Based in Tel Aviv, he previously worked as an editor for Haaretz.

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