Israeli Warmongers At It Again
Byrnzie
Posts: 21,037
Looks like this is Israel's response to the Palestinians bid for recognition of their state by the United Nations general assembly in two weeks' time. A bid which is supported by international law and by the whole of the international community - except Israel and the U.S.
Only yesterday Israel's hardline foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, threatened to topple the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in response to the Palestinian bid at the U.N: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/no ... s-abbas-un
"A reality in which the United Nations recognises a Palestinian state according to a unilateral process will destroy all Israeli deterrence and completely harm its credibility....the only other option in this case would be the toppling of Abbas's government " - Avigdor Lieberman
...Another government minister, Gilad Erdan, called for the immediate annexation of all Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/no ... tary-chief
Hamas says 'gates of hell opened' as Israel kills military leader in Gaza
Ahmed al-Jabari's assassination in missile strike marks 'start of broader operation' that may involve ground troops, says Israel
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
The Guardian, Thursday 15 November 2012
Israel has launched a military operation to eliminate militants and weapon sites in the Gaza Strip, killing the commander of Hamas's military wing, in a move with potentially serious repercussions beyond its borders.
The assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari in a missile strike in Gaza City was the "start of a broader operation", according to the Israel Defence Forces, which it named Operation Pillar of Defence.
Ground forces were on standby, the IDF said. The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, warned that the military was "prepared to expand" its Gaza operation.
A cabinet communique said the IDF would "continue vigorous action against the terrorist infrastructures operating from the Gaza Strip against the civilian population in Israel". It would, "to the best of its ability, work to avoid harming civilians".
In a statement on Twitter, the IDF said: "All options are on the table. If necessary, the IDF is ready to initiate a ground operation in Gaza." The Israeli navy also confirmed that its gunships had fired shells into the Gaza Strip, and there were unconfirmed reports of an incursion in the south of the Gaza Strip late on Wednesday.
As Hamas's armed wing warned that Jabari's assassination "had opened the gates of hell", Israel was braced for a surge in rocket fire from Gaza aimed at communities in the south of the country. Residents in towns in southern Israel were ordered to stay in bomb shelters, and schools in a 40km radius closed.
The conflict could fracture Israel's shaky relations with the post-revolution government in Egypt, which has strong ties with Hamas. Since Egypt's former president and ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted February last year, Israel has feared for the durability of the peace treaty between the two countries.
Following the launch of the operation, Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel, and Israel's envoy to Cairo was also preparing to leave the country.
The Obama administration backed the Israeli airstrikes. Barack Obama spoke directly with Netanyahu and the Israeli prime minister thanked the president for his support, the two administrations said. Netanyahu also spoke with the vice-president, Joe Biden.
Obama made a separate call to President Mohammed Morsi of Egypt, the White House said. The two men agreed on the need to calm down the conflict as quickly as possible.
US state department spokesman Mark Toner denounced Hamas militants and others in Gaza for a barrage of rocket fired into southern Israel. He said the US supported Israel's right to self-defence. "We support Israel's right to defend itself and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties," Toner said.
Solidarity attacks from Islamic jihadist groups, which Israel says are operating in Egypt's Sinai peninsula to the south, and from Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Israel believes has thousands of rockets ready to fire over the northern border, can not be ruled out.
Dan Harel, a former deputy army chief of staff, said: "It might draw them in. There was a volley of fire this morning from the south. We don't know yet if it came from the Sinai ... Hopefully Hezbollah will keep themselves out of the engagement."
Hamas and other militant organisations could deploy longer-range missiles in its arsenals, some of which can reach densely populated cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The IDF claimed multiple air strikes had hit more than 20 underground rocket launchers belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It said it was targeting long-range rockets, such as the Fajr-5, which has a range of up to 75km.
Jabari, head of Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, died when his car was struck in Gaza City by a missile following almost a week of rocket fire from Gaza. Palestinian reports said 10 people died in airstrikes, including two children.
Sami Abu Salem, a local journalist, said civilian cars were bringing the wounded to the Shifa hospital in Gaza City. "I saw women and children bleeding from their heads and necks, and a baby who was burned." Gazans were stocking up on emergency supplies of canned food in preparation for war, he added.
Jabari is the most senior Hamas operative to be killed by Israel for almost four years, since Operation Cast Lead, its three-week assault on the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2008-09 that left about 1,400 Palestinians dead.
The IDF said Jabari was "a senior Hamas operative who served in the upper echelon of the Hamas command and was directly responsible for executing terror attacks against the state of Israel".
Its operation was intended "to severely impair the command and control chain of the Hamas leadership, as well as its terrorist infrastructure. This was a surgical operation in co-operation with the Israeli security agency, that was implemented on the basis of concrete intelligence and using advanced capabilities".
According to Reuters, calls for revenge were broadcast in Gaza after the air strikes. "Israel has declared war on Gaza and they will bear the responsibility for the consequences," Islamic Jihad said.
The Associated Press reported that "plumes of black smoke wafted into Gaza City's skies following at least five airstrikes, in an atmosphere reminiscent of Israel's large-scale 2008-09 attack on Gaza ... Outside the hospital [where Jabari's body was taken], thousands of angry Gazans chanted 'retaliation' and 'we want you to hit Tel Aviv tonight'."
Israel had warned for several days that it may launch an offensive in Gaza after more than 130 rockets were fired by militants in recent days. On Tuesday, Netanyahu said he would choose "the right time to exact the heaviest price ... Whoever thinks that they can damage the daily lives of residents of the south, and that they won't pay a heavy price for this ... they are mistaken".
Most political figures in Israel endorsed the operation. The Labour leader, Shelly Yachimovich, said Israel was "united in its war against terrorism". But Dov Hanin, of the leftwing Hadash party, condemned the killing . "In place of the leaders killed, others will grow, and we will only get another cycle of fire and blood," he said.
Egypt's foreign ministry has condemned the operation and urged Israel to halt targeted killings. The Freedom and Justice party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, called the assassination a "crime that requires a quick Arab and international response to stem these massacres against the besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip".
A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry also criticised the killing. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, called for "an immediate de-escalation of tensions", and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was reported to have called for an urgent Arab league meeting.
Only yesterday Israel's hardline foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, threatened to topple the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in response to the Palestinian bid at the U.N: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/no ... s-abbas-un
"A reality in which the United Nations recognises a Palestinian state according to a unilateral process will destroy all Israeli deterrence and completely harm its credibility....the only other option in this case would be the toppling of Abbas's government " - Avigdor Lieberman
...Another government minister, Gilad Erdan, called for the immediate annexation of all Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/no ... tary-chief
Hamas says 'gates of hell opened' as Israel kills military leader in Gaza
Ahmed al-Jabari's assassination in missile strike marks 'start of broader operation' that may involve ground troops, says Israel
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
The Guardian, Thursday 15 November 2012
Israel has launched a military operation to eliminate militants and weapon sites in the Gaza Strip, killing the commander of Hamas's military wing, in a move with potentially serious repercussions beyond its borders.
The assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari in a missile strike in Gaza City was the "start of a broader operation", according to the Israel Defence Forces, which it named Operation Pillar of Defence.
Ground forces were on standby, the IDF said. The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, warned that the military was "prepared to expand" its Gaza operation.
A cabinet communique said the IDF would "continue vigorous action against the terrorist infrastructures operating from the Gaza Strip against the civilian population in Israel". It would, "to the best of its ability, work to avoid harming civilians".
In a statement on Twitter, the IDF said: "All options are on the table. If necessary, the IDF is ready to initiate a ground operation in Gaza." The Israeli navy also confirmed that its gunships had fired shells into the Gaza Strip, and there were unconfirmed reports of an incursion in the south of the Gaza Strip late on Wednesday.
As Hamas's armed wing warned that Jabari's assassination "had opened the gates of hell", Israel was braced for a surge in rocket fire from Gaza aimed at communities in the south of the country. Residents in towns in southern Israel were ordered to stay in bomb shelters, and schools in a 40km radius closed.
The conflict could fracture Israel's shaky relations with the post-revolution government in Egypt, which has strong ties with Hamas. Since Egypt's former president and ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted February last year, Israel has feared for the durability of the peace treaty between the two countries.
Following the launch of the operation, Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel, and Israel's envoy to Cairo was also preparing to leave the country.
The Obama administration backed the Israeli airstrikes. Barack Obama spoke directly with Netanyahu and the Israeli prime minister thanked the president for his support, the two administrations said. Netanyahu also spoke with the vice-president, Joe Biden.
Obama made a separate call to President Mohammed Morsi of Egypt, the White House said. The two men agreed on the need to calm down the conflict as quickly as possible.
US state department spokesman Mark Toner denounced Hamas militants and others in Gaza for a barrage of rocket fired into southern Israel. He said the US supported Israel's right to self-defence. "We support Israel's right to defend itself and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties," Toner said.
Solidarity attacks from Islamic jihadist groups, which Israel says are operating in Egypt's Sinai peninsula to the south, and from Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Israel believes has thousands of rockets ready to fire over the northern border, can not be ruled out.
Dan Harel, a former deputy army chief of staff, said: "It might draw them in. There was a volley of fire this morning from the south. We don't know yet if it came from the Sinai ... Hopefully Hezbollah will keep themselves out of the engagement."
Hamas and other militant organisations could deploy longer-range missiles in its arsenals, some of which can reach densely populated cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The IDF claimed multiple air strikes had hit more than 20 underground rocket launchers belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It said it was targeting long-range rockets, such as the Fajr-5, which has a range of up to 75km.
Jabari, head of Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, died when his car was struck in Gaza City by a missile following almost a week of rocket fire from Gaza. Palestinian reports said 10 people died in airstrikes, including two children.
Sami Abu Salem, a local journalist, said civilian cars were bringing the wounded to the Shifa hospital in Gaza City. "I saw women and children bleeding from their heads and necks, and a baby who was burned." Gazans were stocking up on emergency supplies of canned food in preparation for war, he added.
Jabari is the most senior Hamas operative to be killed by Israel for almost four years, since Operation Cast Lead, its three-week assault on the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2008-09 that left about 1,400 Palestinians dead.
The IDF said Jabari was "a senior Hamas operative who served in the upper echelon of the Hamas command and was directly responsible for executing terror attacks against the state of Israel".
Its operation was intended "to severely impair the command and control chain of the Hamas leadership, as well as its terrorist infrastructure. This was a surgical operation in co-operation with the Israeli security agency, that was implemented on the basis of concrete intelligence and using advanced capabilities".
According to Reuters, calls for revenge were broadcast in Gaza after the air strikes. "Israel has declared war on Gaza and they will bear the responsibility for the consequences," Islamic Jihad said.
The Associated Press reported that "plumes of black smoke wafted into Gaza City's skies following at least five airstrikes, in an atmosphere reminiscent of Israel's large-scale 2008-09 attack on Gaza ... Outside the hospital [where Jabari's body was taken], thousands of angry Gazans chanted 'retaliation' and 'we want you to hit Tel Aviv tonight'."
Israel had warned for several days that it may launch an offensive in Gaza after more than 130 rockets were fired by militants in recent days. On Tuesday, Netanyahu said he would choose "the right time to exact the heaviest price ... Whoever thinks that they can damage the daily lives of residents of the south, and that they won't pay a heavy price for this ... they are mistaken".
Most political figures in Israel endorsed the operation. The Labour leader, Shelly Yachimovich, said Israel was "united in its war against terrorism". But Dov Hanin, of the leftwing Hadash party, condemned the killing . "In place of the leaders killed, others will grow, and we will only get another cycle of fire and blood," he said.
Egypt's foreign ministry has condemned the operation and urged Israel to halt targeted killings. The Freedom and Justice party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, called the assassination a "crime that requires a quick Arab and international response to stem these massacres against the besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip".
A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry also criticised the killing. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, called for "an immediate de-escalation of tensions", and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was reported to have called for an urgent Arab league meeting.
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i guess since we are not allowing israel to attack iran, they have to get their war on with someone else. yesterday it was syria, today it is gaza.
also, i find it disturbing that the idf has a twitter page where they post updates and videos of people getting blown up...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
:shock:
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/1 ... 30927.html
The Israel Defense Forces have taken to Twitter and YouTube to publicize Wednesday's killing of Hamas military chief Ahmad Jabari.
The militant leader was the target of an Israeli missile strike on the Gaza Strip.
The IDF has an official YouTube channel as well as an official Twitter account. A video posted on their YouTube channel (which can be viewed above) appears to show the attack occurring from a bird's eye view.
The video, which is entitled "IDF Pinpoint Strike on Ahmed Jabari, Head of Hamas Military Wing," includes the following description:
"On Nov. 14, 2012, the IDF targeted Ahmed Jabri, the head of Hamas' military wing, in the Gaza Strip. Jabri was a senior Hamas operative who served in the upper echelon of the Hamas' command and was directly responsible for executing terror attacks against Israel in the past."
In addition to posting the video, the IDF Twitter feed, @IDFSpokesperson, posted information about the strike. Some of the tweets can be viewed below:
you have to click the link to read the tweets...
The Twitter feed also publicized the aforementioned video of the strike.
Per Reuters, as a consequence of strikes by Israel on Wednesday, "Seven people including two girls under the age of five were killed, the health ministry said." Hamas responded to the attacks by saying that Israel had "opened the gates of hell".
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
UN Security Council Calls Emergency Session On Israel Raids
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/1 ... 33544.html
* Council has trouble reaching consensus on Middle East crisis
* UN chief Ban speaks with leaders of Israel and Egypt
* Ban urges Netanyahu to avoid "new cycle of bloodshed"
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will hold a closed emergency meeting on Wednesday night to discuss Israeli strikes against the Gaza Strip as Israel threatened a wider offensive in the Palestinian enclave to stem rocket salvoes by Hamas militants.
The French U.N. mission said on its Twitter feed that the meeting would be a "closed private debate" beginning at 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT Thursday). Council diplomats said Israeli and Palestinians envoys would speak at the meeting.
Separately, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's press office said in two separate statements that he spoke on the telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mohamed Mursi of Egypt.
"(Ban) expressed his concern (to Netanyahu) about the deteriorating situation in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, which includes an alarming escalation of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and the targeted killing by Israel of a Hamas military operative in Gaza," the U.N. said.
Ban also voiced his expectation that "Israeli reactions are measured so as not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed."
He also discussed with Mursi "the need to prevent any further deterioration," the U.N. said in a second statement.
The emergency council meeting comes after the Palestinian Authority's U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour urged the Security Council to take a stand on Israel's latest offensive in the Gaza, which he said amounted to "illegal criminal actions."
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor responded by calling on the international community to condemn "indiscriminate rocket fire against Israeli citizens - children, women." He was referring to five days of escalating Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza.
The militant group Hamas, not the Palestinian Authority, controls Gaza.
Israel launched a new major offensive against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza on Wednesday, killing Hamas' military commander in an air strike and threatening an invasion of the enclave that the Islamist group said would "open the gates of hell."
MAJOR OFFENSIVE
In a letter to Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, president of the 15-nation council this month, Mansour said a "message must be sent to Israel to cease its military campaign against the Palestinian people under its occupation, including the cessation of extrajudicial killing."
"This escalation, which continues at this moment, demands the attention of the international community, including the Security Council, with the aim of averting the further deterioration and destabilization of the situation on the ground and the fueling by Israel of yet another deadly cycle of violence and bloodshed," Mansour said.
Speaking to reporters, Prosor described the Hamas military commander Israel killed, Ahmed Al-Jaabari, as a "mass murderer" who had been planning fresh attacks against Israeli citizens.
It was unclear what a Security Council meeting would achieve since the 15-nation body is generally deadlocked on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envoys say is due to the U.S. determination to protect Israeli.
"We want the Security Council to act in accordance with its responsibilities to stop this aggression against our people," Mansour said, without offering details of what action he wanted.
A new Gaza war has loomed for months as waves of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes have grown more intense and frequent.
Mansour said the Israeli action was intended to draw attention away from the Palestinians' plan to seek an upgrade of its observer status at the United Nations from that of an "entity" to a "non-member state," implicitly recognizing Palestinian statehood.
Israel and the United States have made clear they would oppose the Palestinian upgrade, which would give it the right to join international bodies like the International Criminal Court, where it could file legal complaints against Israel.
U.N. diplomats said a vote on the Palestinian request was tentatively scheduled for Nov. 29. A senior Western diplomat said the Palestinians would easily secure 120 to 130 votes out of the 193-nation General Assembly, which would ensure the success of their upgraded status at the United Nations.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Not difficult to see why Israel and the U.S are so worried about it.
Who are the real terrorists.....
I'm still baffled as to how Israel have managed to paint themselves as the victims when they seem to be the aggressors.
They always do and always will because of the atrocities of WW2.
Doesn't mean they can do as they please now.
And the USA will always support them, money talks...
They are the aggressors. The occupation isn't a two-way street.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/no ... anges-live
Hours before Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jabari was killed he received the draft of a permanent truce agreement with Israel, Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin told Haaretz.
Baskin helped mediate between Israel and Hamas in the deal to release Gilad Shalit.
Baskin told Haaretz on Thursday that senior officials in Israel knew about his contacts with Hamas and Egyptian intelligence aimed at formulating the permanent truce, but nevertheless approved the assassination ...
According to Baskin, during the past two years Jabari internalised the realisation that the rounds of hostilities with Israel were beneficial neither to Hamas nor to the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and only caused suffering, and several times he acted to prevent firing by Hamas into Israel.
He said that even when Hamas was pulled into participating in the launching of rockets, its rockets would always land in open spaces. “And that was intentional,” clarified Baskin.
In recent months Baskin was continuously in touch with Hamas officials and with Egyptian intelligence as well as with officials in Israel, whose names he refused to divulge. A few months ago Baskin showed defence minister Ehud Barak a draft of the agreement and on the basis of that draft an inter-ministry committee on the issue was established. The agreement was to have constituted a basis for a permanent truce between Israel and Hamas, which would prevent the repeated rounds of shooting.
“In Israel,” Baskin said, “they decided not to decide, and in recent months I took the initiative to push it again.”
Jihad al-Masharawi, a Palestinian employee of BBC Arabic in Gaza, carries the body of his 11-month-old son Omar, who according to hospital officials was killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City 15 November, 2012. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters
You do know Hamas lobbed 100 missles at southern Israeli cities with no regard for who and what they were hitting before Israel sent a single bomb the other way. Right?
You also know there are fewer casualties b/c the Southern Israeli cities are well prepared. They have strict orders to stay within 100 yards of a bomb shelter, they closed schools, etc.
You also know they took out a Hamas military leader and stock pile of missles to avoid the escalation.
Yes, innocents got killed (on both sides). But, objectively, who is the one that is really causing this?
You guys are clearly anti-Semites hiding behind slanted news articles that would have been happier had Hitler been able to complete his plan. It is amazing that you are willing to so clearly show your colors on an open forum.
I have seen the group of you make one sided arguments slanting facts and ignoring truths. I will not comment further in this thread, as I find it disgusting. So you are welcome to have at me, as there will honestly be no response. I just couldn't let this sit without calling you out on it and hopefully other folks find there way to research what is actually going on and not let your (or my) rhetoric slant their view of the world.
Edson, well said! How about you and I go on a mini calorie strike to protest all these anti-semites? Lets restrict our diets to only 2279 calories per day...what do you say? I need to lose a few pounds anyway and it would bring awareness to that regions plight? Ive already started, i havent eaten anything yet today so I still have 2279 calories to go. Hopefully I can stay away from the white phosphorus, oops i meant white chocolate.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
But I was reading up about it yesterday and from what I read (on wikipedia-feel free to attack me now), I can't understand why the US emphatically supports Israel.
So Jewish folks invade Palestine and take it over, and the US approves? Sounds familiar, I guess.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
heavy jewish lobby (aipac) in the US. do some research on those in congress that have spoken out against israel and see how many times they have won their next election. while your at it see how many times our congress has visited israel versus all other nations.
also check out the goldstone report...and what chompsky has to say about the "conflict"
ifamericansknew.org
it's funny, that's the link I was just at, reading a "synopsis". I'd like to read some literature from the other side though.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
israel has ground troops ready to enter gaza and has called up reserve troops.
if israel invades gaza, iran might attack israel and then we will have a full scale war in the region.. with our troops right there in the region... on the upside, the syrian conflict might end since both sides have a common ally in israel.
this is bad.
really bad....
:(
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
I think Iran might sit on there hands this time out, I think the U.S.A. has them spooked.
Palestinians: Settlers threaten West Bank's centuries-old olive harvest tradition
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012 ... -tradition
By Lawahez Jabari, NBC News
SALEH, West Bank — Every fall, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians take to the fields to participate in the annual olive harvest, a celebrated national event. Children take time off school and adults skip work to rise at sunrise and walk through the groves echoing with the sound of sticks striking olive branches.
Not only is the olive tree an important symbol of Palestinian identity and culture, the olive oil sector is important to the Palestinian economy and supports around 80,000 families. But the centuries-old tradition is under threat.
"There have been cases of arson and tree uprooting by the settlers," Hamdan Hamdan, who has farmed land in the village of Saleh, a West Bank community with a population of 6,000, told NBC News. "Usually settlers stop us from accessing the trees, just this morning they scared off farmers who crossed beyond the bypass road to their fields."
Violence peaks
The United Nations says that violence from residents of Jewish settlements peaks during the olive harvest. According to a report issued by the Palestinian Authority and the Applied Research Institute, an estimated 800,000 olive trees have been uprooted since 1967, resulting in a loss of around $55 million to the Palestinian economy.
Most countries consider settlements Israel has built in territory Israel captured in a 1967 Middle East war to be illegal under international law. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime supporter of the settlers, has agreed to a limited freeze on construction but refused U.S. administration appeals to extend it. The issue helped scupper 2010 peace talks.
According to the United Nations, around 40 percent of the West Bank is effectively off limits to Palestinians or access is highly restricted.
Settlements, outposts, bypass roads and military bases and 73 barrier gates in the West Bank prevent olive farmers from reaching their groves, the report said. The restricted access and alleged constant intimidation has made regular orchard and tree maintenance unfeasible for many locals.
Village chief Netham Shteyeh told NBC News that the settlement of Elon Moreh was built on 500 dunums of land (1 acre equals 4 dunums) confiscated from the village.
"And now our village is encircled by a bypass road. This gate here is locked all-year round except for several days during the olive harvest," he told NBC News. "Last year they opened it for four days and this year nine. This means 1,000 dunums of our best land is now isolated."
The pressure and intimidation are constant, he said.
"We have been beaten by settlers and soldiers in the past attempting to cross the bypass road," Shteyeh said.
When presented with allegations that settlers and members of the military had harassed and intimidated Palestinian farmers, the Israeli Army told NBC News that they were taking "every measure to ensure the safety and security of the local residents in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), while persistently combating terror and protecting the residents of the State of Israel."
Activists rally around harvests
The tensions surrounding the annual harvest have made it a magnet for activists who support the Palestinian cause.
"I go olive harvesting to resist the occupation," said Maria Baff, a 26-year-old from Germany who has attended five harvests over the years. "I want to help farmers in achieving their rights to harvest and to protect them from the occupation, from settler violence, from their inability to access their land mainly due to the army, as well as restrictions of access to water, crop (and) tree uprooting and agricultural vandalism."
But it is not all politics for Baff and others.
"It’s also a fun activity working together and learning new cultures," she said.
But Baff said she had seen no improvements to the situation faced by farmers despite official assurances and international pressure.
"You might have a few more permits here and there, a few more opened gates here and there, but they face the same problem as five years ago," she told NBC News.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
The poison from the poison stream caught up to you ELEVEN years ago and you floated out of here. Sept. 14, 08
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
maybe start there and then we can talk about decent rockets and semantics.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."