Friday, Jan 06, 2006
Israel's Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has suddenly figured out that violent colonists have been damaging Palestinian property and has expressed his shock over this surprising phenomenon. He said he would appoint a team to investigate incidents of colonists cutting down olive trees.
Commenting on the decision of Mofaz, Yediot Aronot, an Israeli newspaper, remarked: "Minister Mofaz can save us the cost of his investigation. Instead, [he] should simply read the thousands of pages written on the topic in recent years by B'tselem and other human rights groups active in the territories, as well as several law enforcement agencies in Israel. These reports document damage to Palestinian olive crops, violence in the South Mount Hebron region and the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Hebron."
Other reports
The paper stated that Mofaz might also add Talia Sasson's illegal outpost report, the Shamgar Commission findings about the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in 1994, and the 1982 Karp Report about law enforcement in the territories.
This stems from what Talia Sasson calls the symbiosis between the IDF and the colonists, which tells soldiers their job is to serve the colonists, rather than the rule of law.
The colonists attack Palestinians and evict them from their property, yet they are treated with silk gloves. On the ground, IDF soldiers refuse to get involved, despite their obligation to defend the Palestinians.
In practice, Mofaz doesn't really even have to read the reports. All he's got to do is bother to read a few pages sent to him by human rights organisations in August, just before the disengagement. That document details the failures of law enforcement in the territories, points out the areas given to disturbances the colonies and outposts in the Nablus area (one of the flashpoints for olive tree cuttings recently in the news), the Jewish colony in Hebron, colonies in the South Mount Hebron region and those west of Ramallah.
It is hard to believe that Mofaz, who refused to fire his assistant for colonies' affairs despite suspicions of actions bordering on the criminal, as specified in the Sasson report, would take seriously the issue of defending Palestinians and their property.
However, even if Mofaz really deals with the anarchy in the occupied territories, there is no need to waste time and money on a new study. He should simply implement the findings of earlier studies and reports.
Another Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, says "the act of appointing a committee is nothing but an evasion of responsibility and a continuation of the debacle that has been going on for almost a year in an area of which Mofaz himself is in charge. If any committee needs to be appointed, then it ought to be a committee to investigate how Mofaz permitted outlaws to uproot thousands of olive trees since April, in areas under the control of the Israel Defence Forces, and how it is possible that they don't have 'the slightest lead,' as he says, into finding the outlaws."
The ongoing uprooting of trees, torching of orchards, as well as the daily harassment of farmers who come to work their land, cannot be considered mere negligence in law enforcement, but rather deliberate disregard. Ultimately, the Jewish state benefits from the fact that Palestinians are afraid to work their lands the land is then declared state-owned and is used to expand colonies.
Last month alone, 240 olive trees were cut down in the village of Borin, and another 200 in the village of Salem. Despite this, the authorities are reluctant to arrest the culprits.
At Salem, olive trees were cut down after volunteers from Kibbuzim had left the area they had come to protect from the colonists. All this has been documented by newspapers. In one case, an identification card was found at the scene belonging to a colonist from Elon Moreh, who was arrested and immediately released.
- Ebrahim Al Abed is a media analyst.
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
