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IDF protects Palestinian olive picking ?
A report from PeaceNow activist about Olive picking
The complexity of the situation in this area is demonstrated by this
report. I know the person who wrote it and saw Israel TV 1 coverage of
this story that show it took place exactly as described below:
Dear friends,
I must share with you the information I just received in a phone call
from
Abdullah about the confrontations with the zealots setlers of
Tapuakh.
Abdullah just phoned to tell me that this morning they left their
homes early
and went to the olive groves nearby.
When they arrived there, armed settlers zealots were waiting for
them - as usual.
Shortly thereafter, the army was called in - as usual. And when the
commander arrived to speak with Abdullah, the officer explained that
the
army could not really guarantee the safety of the villagers in front
of the
guns and threats of the zealots; he recommeded that they return to
their
homes.
Abdullah and his townsmen explained to the soldiers that they were
here to
harvest their olives and, harvest their olives they would. The
soldiers job
was to protect them from the zealots and allow them to carry out
their
harvest; Abdullah and his townsmen requested that the soldiers do
their job
and allow the Palestinians to do their own. And so it was...... the
zealots
increased their threats, began to throw stones and to shout, but the
Palestinians and the activitsts with them proceeded to the trees and
the
harvest.
Throughout the day, olives were picked under the watchful protection
of the
IDF, while disgruntled zealots stood in the background, mumbling and
muttering, but unable to stop the sacred work from being performed.
Another day's work remains to be done and an agreement has been
reached with
the IDF that Friday and Saturday the townspeople will not come to the
groves
in order to allow the army to organize proper protection to be able
to
ensure that the remainder of the harvest can be tended to without
threats
from the zealots.
This agreed, Abdullah, his townsmen and the activists have now
returned
home, peacefully and very, very proud of the work that they
accomplished
this day. Abdullah called to ask me to share this story with everyone
and to
tell you all that on this day, many more Palestinians in Yasuf
understand
that peace IS possible with Israel, inspite of the zealots who would
make us
all believe differently.
We will continue this work and we will continue to do it together. We
will
continue to plan additional activities, Israelis and Palestinians
alike.
Where necessary, we will turn to the authorities for assistance and
protection from any zealot who would block the path to peace and a
better
future for our children that, together, we are building.
Blessed is the work of this day. May the fruits harvested lead only
to a
just peace!
From the people of Yasuf and their friends, brothers and sisters, the
people
of Israel
http://www.peacenow.org.il
report. I know the person who wrote it and saw Israel TV 1 coverage of
this story that show it took place exactly as described below:
Dear friends,
I must share with you the information I just received in a phone call
from
Abdullah about the confrontations with the zealots setlers of
Tapuakh.
Abdullah just phoned to tell me that this morning they left their
homes early
and went to the olive groves nearby.
When they arrived there, armed settlers zealots were waiting for
them - as usual.
Shortly thereafter, the army was called in - as usual. And when the
commander arrived to speak with Abdullah, the officer explained that
the
army could not really guarantee the safety of the villagers in front
of the
guns and threats of the zealots; he recommeded that they return to
their
homes.
Abdullah and his townsmen explained to the soldiers that they were
here to
harvest their olives and, harvest their olives they would. The
soldiers job
was to protect them from the zealots and allow them to carry out
their
harvest; Abdullah and his townsmen requested that the soldiers do
their job
and allow the Palestinians to do their own. And so it was...... the
zealots
increased their threats, began to throw stones and to shout, but the
Palestinians and the activitsts with them proceeded to the trees and
the
harvest.
Throughout the day, olives were picked under the watchful protection
of the
IDF, while disgruntled zealots stood in the background, mumbling and
muttering, but unable to stop the sacred work from being performed.
Another day's work remains to be done and an agreement has been
reached with
the IDF that Friday and Saturday the townspeople will not come to the
groves
in order to allow the army to organize proper protection to be able
to
ensure that the remainder of the harvest can be tended to without
threats
from the zealots.
This agreed, Abdullah, his townsmen and the activists have now
returned
home, peacefully and very, very proud of the work that they
accomplished
this day. Abdullah called to ask me to share this story with everyone
and to
tell you all that on this day, many more Palestinians in Yasuf
understand
that peace IS possible with Israel, inspite of the zealots who would
make us
all believe differently.
We will continue this work and we will continue to do it together. We
will
continue to plan additional activities, Israelis and Palestinians
alike.
Where necessary, we will turn to the authorities for assistance and
protection from any zealot who would block the path to peace and a
better
future for our children that, together, we are building.
Blessed is the work of this day. May the fruits harvested lead only
to a
just peace!
From the people of Yasuf and their friends, brothers and sisters, the
people
of Israel
http://www.peacenow.org.il
For more information:
http://www.peacenow.org.il
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
For more information:
http://www.liquid2k.com/transfer-
Palestinians Abandon Village
By Mohammed Daraghmeh
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, October 19, 2002; 7:43 AM
YANUN, West Bank –– Sobbing as they filled a truck with furniture and piled themselves into dusty cars, six Palestinian families set out from this tiny village of old stone houses, leaving it completely abandoned.
Members of the Sobih clan said they were fleeing the village – once home to 25 families – after four years of worsening attacks by Jewish settlers, who have set up illegal outposts on nearby hilltops. The attacks have become increasingly frequent in recent months, they said.
"Our life here is more bitter than hell," Kamal Sobih, a thin, bearded man of 40, said Friday.
Groups of masked Jewish settlers have charged into the village, coming at night with dogs and horses, stealing sheep, hurling stones through windows and beating the men with fists and rifle butts, Palestinian residents said.
An electricity generator has been scorched by fire, knocking out power to the village. Three large water tanks were tipped over and emptied.
Palestinians complain bitterly of land lost over the past decades of Mideast conflict. The exodus from Yanun is believed to be the first time in recent years that Palestinians have abandoned an entire village because of the conflict.
Confrontations between Jewish settlers and Palestinians often fall into a murky legal area, with the Israeli army, the police and the military's civil administration in the territories all being involved.
An Israeli army spokesman, who insisted his name not be used, said soldiers try to prevent conflict between settlers and Palestinians, but that forces are primarily in the area to protect Israelis from attacks by Palestinian militants.
Spokesmen for the police and the civil administration could not be reached Friday evening, the beginning of the Jewish sabbath. Phone calls to the Settler's Council, an umbrella group for the settlers, also went unanswered Friday.
The nearby Jewish settlement of Itamar, about six miles west, was attacked by a Palestinian gunman June 20. Five Israelis were killed and eight were injured before the gunman was shot dead.
The residents of Yanun have not been linked to that attack or other violence.
More than 200,000 Jews live in about 150 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – lands that are home to 3 million Palestinians, who hope to establish a state on the territory Israel conquered in the 1967 Mideast War.
Most settlements have been built with the approval of Israel's government, though the practice has been widely criticized internationally. In addition, some settlers have set up new outposts without government approval, putting up trailer homes and makeshift structures in the hope they eventually will get government authorization.
Yanun is an isolated valley hamlet flanked by two illegal outposts on nearby hilltops. The nearest settlement approved by the Israeli government is Itamar.
In Yanun, the men cried as they got into two cars to leave for the larger nearby village of Aqraba, where they believe there will be safety in numbers. They will live with relatives there or move into rented apartments.
"Death would be easier than leaving," Kamal Sobih said, describing his attachment to the land where generations of his family have lived. "But there is no choice."
He said he often spent nights keeping watch for attackers from his windows.
Ahmed Sobih, an elderly man, sat in the back seat of one car, an Arab head scarf covering his right eye. He said he lost sight in the eye after a beating by an Israeli settler.
He was tending sheep on the hillside when a stranger approached. Sobih, mistaking the man for someone from a neighboring Arab village, went to shake hands with the man and offer him a cigarette but he instead was beaten with his own walking stick, he said.
As they packed up, two children led sheep out of the village.
The village chief, Abdelatif Sobih, was the last to go, packing up his rickety Volkswagen Beetle. He said he has been attacked seven times and his wife, Raideh, threatened to leave him if they did not abandon the place.
"I kept urging the people not to leave, but they did, one by one," he said, crying. "They left me without a choice. I'm blaming my people as well (as the settlers) because they left me alone."
He drove off, leaving the village empty. They left behind almost nothing. Three old tires lay in front of a house. Some sheep munched grass nearby – the owner of the flock plans to come back for them in coming days, the departing resident said.
They also leave behind hundreds of valuable olive trees.
In Aqraba, a bumpy 10-minute drive down a winding road, Abdelatif Sobih and his family unpacked their belongings on the porch of his brother's old house, a cramped building in disrepair.
One of his children, Bara, 6, carefully took from the car a homemade bird cage sheltering two small charcoal-colored birds and carried it into the new home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A51353-2002Oct19?language=printer
By Mohammed Daraghmeh
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, October 19, 2002; 7:43 AM
YANUN, West Bank –– Sobbing as they filled a truck with furniture and piled themselves into dusty cars, six Palestinian families set out from this tiny village of old stone houses, leaving it completely abandoned.
Members of the Sobih clan said they were fleeing the village – once home to 25 families – after four years of worsening attacks by Jewish settlers, who have set up illegal outposts on nearby hilltops. The attacks have become increasingly frequent in recent months, they said.
"Our life here is more bitter than hell," Kamal Sobih, a thin, bearded man of 40, said Friday.
Groups of masked Jewish settlers have charged into the village, coming at night with dogs and horses, stealing sheep, hurling stones through windows and beating the men with fists and rifle butts, Palestinian residents said.
An electricity generator has been scorched by fire, knocking out power to the village. Three large water tanks were tipped over and emptied.
Palestinians complain bitterly of land lost over the past decades of Mideast conflict. The exodus from Yanun is believed to be the first time in recent years that Palestinians have abandoned an entire village because of the conflict.
Confrontations between Jewish settlers and Palestinians often fall into a murky legal area, with the Israeli army, the police and the military's civil administration in the territories all being involved.
An Israeli army spokesman, who insisted his name not be used, said soldiers try to prevent conflict between settlers and Palestinians, but that forces are primarily in the area to protect Israelis from attacks by Palestinian militants.
Spokesmen for the police and the civil administration could not be reached Friday evening, the beginning of the Jewish sabbath. Phone calls to the Settler's Council, an umbrella group for the settlers, also went unanswered Friday.
The nearby Jewish settlement of Itamar, about six miles west, was attacked by a Palestinian gunman June 20. Five Israelis were killed and eight were injured before the gunman was shot dead.
The residents of Yanun have not been linked to that attack or other violence.
More than 200,000 Jews live in about 150 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – lands that are home to 3 million Palestinians, who hope to establish a state on the territory Israel conquered in the 1967 Mideast War.
Most settlements have been built with the approval of Israel's government, though the practice has been widely criticized internationally. In addition, some settlers have set up new outposts without government approval, putting up trailer homes and makeshift structures in the hope they eventually will get government authorization.
Yanun is an isolated valley hamlet flanked by two illegal outposts on nearby hilltops. The nearest settlement approved by the Israeli government is Itamar.
In Yanun, the men cried as they got into two cars to leave for the larger nearby village of Aqraba, where they believe there will be safety in numbers. They will live with relatives there or move into rented apartments.
"Death would be easier than leaving," Kamal Sobih said, describing his attachment to the land where generations of his family have lived. "But there is no choice."
He said he often spent nights keeping watch for attackers from his windows.
Ahmed Sobih, an elderly man, sat in the back seat of one car, an Arab head scarf covering his right eye. He said he lost sight in the eye after a beating by an Israeli settler.
He was tending sheep on the hillside when a stranger approached. Sobih, mistaking the man for someone from a neighboring Arab village, went to shake hands with the man and offer him a cigarette but he instead was beaten with his own walking stick, he said.
As they packed up, two children led sheep out of the village.
The village chief, Abdelatif Sobih, was the last to go, packing up his rickety Volkswagen Beetle. He said he has been attacked seven times and his wife, Raideh, threatened to leave him if they did not abandon the place.
"I kept urging the people not to leave, but they did, one by one," he said, crying. "They left me without a choice. I'm blaming my people as well (as the settlers) because they left me alone."
He drove off, leaving the village empty. They left behind almost nothing. Three old tires lay in front of a house. Some sheep munched grass nearby – the owner of the flock plans to come back for them in coming days, the departing resident said.
They also leave behind hundreds of valuable olive trees.
In Aqraba, a bumpy 10-minute drive down a winding road, Abdelatif Sobih and his family unpacked their belongings on the porch of his brother's old house, a cramped building in disrepair.
One of his children, Bara, 6, carefully took from the car a homemade bird cage sheltering two small charcoal-colored birds and carried it into the new home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A51353-2002Oct19?language=printer
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