It was last week that the Israeli military announced a curfew in the area, after an Israeli settler claimed to have been shot at there.
While the 4,000 Palestinian villagers were forced to stay indoors, bulldozers uprooted the olive trees, which were soon ripe for the autumn harvest. Initially, it was talked about hundreds of destroyed trees. Later, the army admitted that 3,100 had been uprooted, while residents claim that it is about over 10,000, writes EFE after visiting the village.
They want to avenge. All this happens to send the message: You must lose hope and leave your country if you want a good life, says Abu Naim, who owned some of the trees.
The olive trees in the area are in some cases several centuries old, and the olive harvest is a cornerstone of the Palestinian economy. But the Israeli army claims that they wanted to strengthen security around a settler road on the site, and therefore took down the trees.
And unofficially, Israel is also talking about it being a revenge for alleged aggressions against residents of Israel's internationally illegal settlements.
Every village, every enemy, should know that if they carry out an attack on settlers, the price will be high, the high-ranking officer Avi Bluth is said to have told soldiers on the spot, according to leaks to Israeli media.
They will be subject to curfews, they will be exposed to sieges, and they will experience excavation work, he said, apparently referring to the recent events.
