Burning fields

There has been much in the media about settler activists burning farmers' land.  Last week, Zakaria, field worker for Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), took us to see the ground, black with ashes: the result of one such attack near Deir Sharaf. According to him, between 30 and 40 olive trees had been burned by settlers from nearby settlement Shave Shomeron.  

The next day we joined a meeting between different NGOs in Jit. Its purpose was to start an 'operation room' for cooperation against future attacks on civilians or property. The aim is to counter the attacks through protective presence, to witness and to collect evidence for legal pressure. 

After the meeting we met one of the families that has suffered attacks by settlers, in Burin (south of Nablus) together with the Yanoun team. Some of their olive trees were burned by settlers a few days before; others, last year. (There has also been a death in the family as a result of a settler attack on the house.) The family had filmed the burning fields and when the settlers' were putting out tires to burn, the day before.  

They felt that there is no help to be got through calling the authorities (the Israeli DCO). The Israeli organisations we met in Jit – Yesh Din and RHR among others – also felt that the most efficient way to combat this sort of attack is through contacting them and not the authorities.  

We hope that the network in Jit will develop into an efficient movement of Israeli volunteers. It feels good to be able to support their work.