Newscasts - Palestinians try to salvage olive trees uprooted by Israeli troops
03/10/2025 16:43
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_95gmoksl&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RW028903102025RP1_K15&pageId=Newscasts Source: 'Reuters - General news videos' Description: Palestinians say Israeli army operations and settler violence are disrupting this year's olive harvest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. A Palestinian government commission said more than 30,000 olive trees have been uprooted in the past two years in an unprecedented campaign. Lucy Fielder has more. Short Link: https://lseg.group/46P7GwB Video Transcript: The Israeli army said in a statement on the August operation that "to improve defenses, forces were clearing vegetation on the outskirts of Al Mughayyir, including 3,100 trees." The Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said more than 30,000 trees have been damaged in an unprecedented campaign in the two years since the Gaza war started. Amir Daoud, head of documentation, said the commission would work with grassroots groups and international activists to try to protect this year's olive harvest. Farmland, particularly olive groves, especially since the start of the genocidal war, have been subjected to a systematic campaign aimed at preventing Palestinians from reaching their land in recent months. The main challenge, therefore, is ensuring that people can access their fields in order to thwart Israel's plans. Palestinian farmer Saleh Saleh said Israeli forces uprooted these trees in Khirbet Srouj area near Jenin, giving him no warning beforehand. This was his best farmland. Now all he can do is try to salvage the olives. The Israeli military told Reuters they were checking the incident. For Palestinians, olive trees represent a deep connection to the land, a crucial source of income and an important feature of their national cuisine. Saleh said despite the damage to his trees and ongoing threats, he'd keep planting. "A tree is like a child," he says, "You spend years caring for it, then the occupation comes and uproots it."