Posted on 11/27/2005 12:27:01 PM PST by Alouette
NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Jewish settlers cut down and uprooted hundreds of olive trees on Palestinian farms near the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, residents and Israeli police said.
Settlers from the most radical enclaves in the occupied West Bank have often attacked farms since the start of a Palestinian uprising in 2000, in which settlers have often been targeted by militants.
Settlers say that the land, which Palestinians want for a state, is theirs by biblical birthright.
Residents of Salem said dozens of settlers from Elon Moreh chopped down hundreds of the town's olive trees, the main source of income for 5,000 residents.
"This is not the first time that settlers have cut down dozens of olive trees. Among them were trees more than 30 years old," said Adli Eshiya, a local councilor. Villagers said it was the sixth such attack this year.
Police said that at least 200 olive trees had been destroyed near Salem and that an investigation had begun.
A spokesman for Elon Moreh settlement, Benny Katsover, said he was not aware of the incident.
More than 245,000 settlers live in the West Bank, home to 2.4 million Palestinians. The World Court has said that all of Israel's settlements on land captured in the 1967 Middle East war are illegal. Israel disputes this.
Settlers' anger has grown more intense since Israel removed settlements from the Gaza Strip this year under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for breaking from conflict with the Palestinians.
Although Sharon has said he has no further plans for unilateral withdrawals, he has said that some isolated West Bank settlements would have to go under any eventual peace deal. Elon Moreh is one of the smaller settlements.
It seems you are just as embarrasingly naive about olive trees as I am. It can be rectified by going to this link.
Note this:
Pruning: Proper pruning is important for the olive. Pruning both regulates production and shapes the tree for easier harvest. The trees can withstand radical pruning, so it is relatively easy to keep them at a desired height. The problem of alternate bearing can also be avoided with careful pruning every year. It should be kept in mind that the olive never bears fruit in the same place twice, and usually bears on the previous year's growth. For a single trunk, prune suckers and any branches growing below the point where branching is desired. For the gnarled effect of several trunks, stake out basal suckers and lower branches at the desired angle. Prune flowering branches in early summer to prevent olives from forming. Olive trees can also be pruned to espaliers.
So to make sure of a good harvest it seems the trees need to be pruned.
The difference between a statement and a question is considered "nonsense." Very well.
Let me try to break it down for you.
- A. Pole has accused Aloutte of merely confusing issues while engaging in personal attacks-
while engaging in personal attacks and offering no evidence to support his/her views to confuse the issue.
Get it now?
Thanks for clarifying that for me. Sorry to misquote the article.
It's painfully obvious that you don't want to respond to the posts addressed to you.
Income from trees and orchards are produced annually. They sprout new growth, bloom, set on fruit, ripen, and get harvested, go dormant, sprout new growth etc. One does not lose two or three months income.
Regarding the Pruning of 500 trees, or an orchard, in the manner shown is more than a few hours of nightly work by vandals. It looks like a well done job that took several days if not weeks.
Does anyone believe there would not have been a hue and cry at the neccessary noise made by this hewing being done clandestinely?
Photo op time for idiot reporters who have no concept of agriculture.
Put up or shut up.
The palies did the cutting, then showed the cut trees to the media and claimed they were "destroyed." The media accepted their tale, not knowing how to tell the difference between destroyed trees and pruned trees.
It is not the first time that palies have made this accusation.
Sorry. This post is under arrest by the grammer polizei.
UNUPROOTED?
Sorry, that's a flagrant violation, almost as bad as irregardless....
Interesting you took it to mean you. I was not calling you a liar, nor was I calling you anything. Having said that, it is most unfair to make a charge of another FReeper of "liar" and then refuse to back it up. I understand why you may have decided not to respond, but then you do open yourself to criticism if will not support the accusation.
It is a little like asking, "so how long have you been cheating on your wife?".
Pruning trees does not lose the farmer income. It increases it by keeping the tree healthy. Not pruning the trees would cause branches to snap, eventually leading to the possible death of the entire tree. Pruning is done between seasons.
Oh, and I have found Alouette to be a solid source of information whether she is posting or responding. Your replies only make me question you.
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