Olive libel again

It’s a little early but Elder of Ziyon noted a “news” story:

Settlers from the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar in the northern West Bank attacked a Palestinian family collecting olives on Saturday morning, a government official told Ma’an.

Mayor Burin Ali Eid of the village of Burin, near Nablus, said a fight broke out when settlers “chopped down five olive trees” owned by the family.

Local Palestinian sources said that settlers cut down 15 olive trees in other Nablus-area attacks on farmers.

And another Palestinian propaganda site, AFP has the story too:

Two Palestinian farmers were lightly wounded today when they were attacked by people they said were Jewish settlers from Yitzhar who tore down around 15 olives trees while the Palestinians were collecting the harvest.

Elder of Ziyon notes a reason for skepticism.

Yitzhar is a religious Jewish village and the residents would not desecrate the Sabbath by chopping down any trees, so it is clear that these claims are lies.

He also links to a conflicting report.

I’ve blogged about the olive vandalism stories in the past. If you pay attention they usually happen in late October or early November. Boker Tov Boulder, some years ago linked to a plausible explanation why these incidents always occurred at the same time of year.

A widely-published AP photo of an Arab woman weeping and embracing an allegedly chopped-down tree (similar photos were taken by Reuters, AFP, and others] shows that the trunk is intact, and that only the top branches are cut off – as if it had been purposely pruned. In fact, the Haifa-based Land of Israel Task Force says that this is exactly what happened.

“The left-wingers and Arabs pulled the same trick last year,” Task Force head Aviad Visuly said, “and using the same method.” Photos of the trees show that the branches were sawed off in a manner that is beneficial to the trees. “Why would vandals bother sawing off each individual branch? Wouldn’t they just cut down the trunk?”

The branches begin growing back 2-3 months after they are cut, and grow to full size within two years. “In the meanwhile,” Visuly said, “the orchard owners receive stipends from the Saudis, via the PA.”

Now I realize that the incident yesterday is a little early and the damage in the AFP photograph doesn’t match the description of “pruning.” However, it is common for the Palestinians to blame Jews for damaging olive trees. As AFP notes elsewhere:

For Palestinians, who start harvesting olives this month across the West Bank, olives are not only an important agricultural product, the olive tree also symbolizes their attachment to the land.

Olive trees are symbolic, and charging Jews with damaging them is an effective way to perpetuate grievances against Israel. I have to agree with Elder that this wasn’t a case of “settlers” vandalizing the trees. Given the reported injuries – to two brothers – I’d guess that this was more likely the result of a clan clash than a assault by the resident of Yitzhar.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.