Olive orchards hacked down
2003-11-05 12:51
Jerusalem - Extremist Israeli settlers have chopped down hundreds of olive trees grown on Palestinian farmland in the West Bank, sources on both sides said on Wednesday.
Residents of the village of Saouia in the northern West Bank said they discovered that hundreds of their trees had been sawn down just as they were about to begin harvesting.
The villagers had not been able to access their land near the settlement of Eli earlier as they need authorisation from the Israeli army.
Villagers in Hawara, close to the town of Nablus, also said that hundreds of their olive trees had been destroyed by Israelis in nearby settlements.
Ephraim Sneh, an MP with the opposition Labour party, told public radio that he had raised the issue at a meeting of the parliament's defence and foreign affairs committee after witnessing the damage himself.
Uri Ariel, an MP for the right-wing National Unity party who is close to settlers' organisations, said that it was not known who was behind the destruction but added that: "We are completely opposed to this type of action."