Lets hope it gets the same page space as his previous excellent efforts.
Fairness in the Land?
I have recently returned from taking part in the olive harvest on the West Bank. In my encounter with the Israeli army, I was told that it was “protecting farmers from settlers.” In reality, this amounted to preventing farmers from picking olives on their own land (by declaring it a “closed military zone”) and failing to prevent settlers from leaving their illegally occupied hill-top to harass the farmers.
The group I was with met the local headmaster, who told us that his greatest concern was the pollution of the water-table by untreated sewage flowing from the settlement.
I have now heard, two weeks after our departure, that settlers have cut down 95 olive trees (Haaretz Nov. 21) and invaded the neighbouring village, where they were escorted by the army, who fired tear gas and live bullets (Palestinian Centre for Human Rights).
Settlers receive inducements from the Israeli government: loans for the purchase of property, price reductions on the leasing of land, financial incentives for teachers, grants for investors and free school transport.
One of the farmers I met showed me his documentation for the land he thought he owned. This included the large part of his grove which he was no longer allowed to access and the hilltop itself, where 20 years ago he and his family used to picnic, and which is now occupied by the same settlement which pours its sewage on to the village water supply.
In view of the unparalleled level of support given to one favoured group of inhabitants of the West Bank, will the State of Israeli be providing compensation to their victims, the Palestinian farmer who has now lost his livelihood, the other who cannot access his own grove and the villagers who habitually suffer amoebic dysentery caused by the polluted water supply?
Yours sincerely,
(Rev. Canon Dr.) Peter G. Liddell
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