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Wednesday, November 30, 2005

If this sounds too far-fetched to you, you're not nearly cynical enough.

Arutz 7: Tree-Cutting "Libel" - Once Again, Jews Stand Accused

It was widely reported Sunday, in the name of Arab sources in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, that Jewish settlers from the Shomron had chopped down 200 olive trees owned by Arabs. The Ynet site, for instance, wrote, "Palestinian sources reported that settlers from an outpost near Elon Moreh had cut down" the trees.

The reports were immediately followed by condemnations of the Jewish population in the Shomron and Israel's rule there. The extremist left-wing organization "Peace Now" released a statement saying that the incident was a direct result of the lack of law enforcement in the areas and the continuing "problem of the [Jewish] outposts."

However, the Yesha Council looked into the matter and said that though "we condemn all violence, including harming Palestinian property," it had found that the incident was apparently a provocation staged by extreme left-wing activists who "wish to sully their Jewish brothers, while at the same time extending their hand to terrorists."...

...A widely-published AP photo [Included here -S] of an Arab woman weeping and embracing an allegedly chopped-down tree (similar photos were taken by Reuters, AFP, and others] shows that the trunk is intact, and that only the top branches are cut off - as if it had been purposely pruned. In fact, the Haifa-based Land of Israel Task Force says that this is exactly what happened.

"The left-wingers and Arabs pulled the same trick last year," Task Force head Aviad Visuly said, "and using the same method." Photos of the trees show that the branches were sawed off in a manner that is beneficial to the trees. "Why would vandals bother sawing off each individual branch? Wouldn't they just cut down the trunk?"

The branches begin growing back 2-3 months after they are cut, and grow to full size within two years. "In the meanwhile," Visuly said, "the orchard owners receive stipends from the Saudis, via the PA."...

Is that true? I'm not an arborist, but the motivations of the involved parties do sound plausible.

2 Comments

This picture accusing settlers of sabotaging a Palestinian woman's olive tree was published here in the UK in the "Daily Telegraph", a paper not usually hostile to Israel.If the story is true, then the settlers have only themselves to blame for hurting themselves.If its not true then please can we have the refutation so I can follow up my protest to the editor with something more substantial.A similar event took place two years ago and that was thought to be propaganda something which the Palestinians seem better at than the Israelis.

My uninformed guess would be that there are real cases of destruction of olive groves by settlers, but that the picture (like pretty much every "weeping Palestinian woman" photo) was staged.

They probably rounded up some photographers and the woman, found whatever tree looked impressive, and sent her to pose. Maybe there were stumps but the pruned tree was a better visual. What certainly *didn't* happen was that multiple photographers happened to wander along and find a woman clutching a tree and sobbing.

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