Report: Israeli settlers plant trees on Palestinian land

Ma'an
For the second Friday morning in a row, Israeli settlers planted trees in the Beqa'a Valley near Hebron on land belonging to a Palestinian family, according to a Christian organization operating in the area.

The Christian Peacemakers Team said in a statement that at about 10:30am, a Palestinian farmer in the Beqa'a called to say settlers were on their land. The team said three of its members arrived just as the last three Israeli police officers were leaving.

Meanwhile, the head of the Palestinian family involved said a military jeep came at 3am and took some photos, then returned about 6am and sat waiting at the junction of the village road with Bypass Road 60.

Some 40-50 settlers reportedly arrived between 8-9am, along with about 20 soldiers in six or seven jeeps.

Settlers planted about 60 pine seedlings on the terrace directly above the family’s home, the Palestinian said. The Israeli army protected the settlers and prevented the Palestinian family from talking to the settlers, he added, noting that the settlers left about 11am.

A representative of the Civil Administration (the Israeli military administration of the West Bank) reportedly told the family that the settlers should not be planting trees in the area, but that their requests were ignored.

The seemingly innocent issue of tree planting is sensitive in some Palestinian communities because under Israeli law, green hills are defined as nature preserves, and therefore are state land, the team said.

Since the 1930s Zionist groups worldwide have raised money in Jewish communities "to plant a tree for Israel." These plantings created green hills in what is now Israel, the West Bank, and in Jordan.

When asked why the settlers were planting trees there, one brother in the family said, "First they plant trees. After awhile, they put up a hut. After another while, they bring in caravans [mobile homes]. Then they build a settlement." Full story