Denied land access, Palestinians miss olive harvest

[Jefferson23]

AL-JANIYA (AFP) -- Abbas Yousef points wistfully towards his olive trees, which are bearing their annual fruit. Yet again, the 70-year-old Palestinian farmer will be unable to make the autumn harvest.

Yousef's olive groves lie on land either side of an Israeli settlement in the northern occupied West Bank. For years, he has been denied access by the army, and the settlers have plowed it, uprooting many of his trees.

For the 1,400 residents of al-Janiya -- Yousef's village -- attacks by settlers who have uprooted trees and burnt Palestinian farmland have become a daily occurrence, he says.

"Each time I try to get to my olive groves, an Israeli soldier tells me I can't go, because it's been designated a 'closed military zone,'" Yousef says.


http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=736056

[pangaia]

1. If you can believe it, even Rick Steves spoke of this

during one of his tv shows.

[Jefferson23]

3. The travel guy? In what context did he speak about it? n/t

[pangaia]

4. Yes, him..

I watch almost no TV but flip channels occasionally. He was doing a spot on Israel and Palestine, and spoke of the olive trees that have been in families for generations. He was talking about the trees and I was wondering if he was going to get to the real situation, and then he actually kind went there about the Palestinians losing them, something like that, due to Israeli settlements.. etc. I was quite pleasantly surprised, actually.

[Jefferson23]

5. I'm impressed..good for him, thanks. n/t

[DetlefK]

2. No racism there. Everything is A-okay in Israel. Why are the Palestinians always so aggressive?