The defense minister's bureau issued a statement on Thursday stating that Shaul Mofaz has decided to appoint a committee to look into who is responsible for the methodical uprooting of Palestinians' olive trees. Mofaz went so far as to say that the uprooting of these trees is a "shocking" deed, and even promised compensation for Palestinians whose trees have been uprooted.
But the act of appointing a committee is nothing but an evasion of responsibility and a continuation of the debacle that has been going on for almost a year in an area of which Mofaz himself is in charge. If any committee needs to be appointed, then it ought to be a committee to investigate how Mofaz permitted outlaws to uproot thousands of olive trees since April, in areas under the control of the Israel Defense Forces, and how it is possible that they don't have "the slightest lead," as he says, into finding the outlaws.
The proper thing would be to place the tree uprooters on trial, and to require them, rather than the state, to pay compensation to the injured parties. Meanwhile, the state is not doing even the bare minimum, and the testimony of the victims is being collected by the non-profit organization Yesh Din - Volunteers for Human Rights, instead of the police.
Perhaps there should be an investigation into the connection between Mofaz's belated interest in the tree uprooters and the fact that Mofaz has just quit the Likud and moved to Kadima. Perhaps Mofaz thinks that Kadima's constituency is more interested than the Likud Central Committee in Palestinians' olive trees. The cynical move to appoint a joint committee of the army, Shin Bet security service and police to determine that these three bodies have failed in handling the matter is no more than an act of public relations.
The ongoing uprooting of trees, torching of orchards, as well as the daily harassment of the farmers who come to work their land, cannot be considered mere negligence in law enforcement, but rather deliberate disregard. Ultimately, the state benefits from the fact that Palestinians are afraid to work their lands - they become state owned, and can be used to expand settlements.
This, at any rate, is what is happening around the village of Bil'in, where 100 olive trees were uprooted in October by Defense Ministry contractors who are building the separation fence, not for security reasons, but rather to enable the expansion of the Matityahu East community. The uprooted trees, incidentally, are sold to private nurseries in the center of the country, and they go on to adorn the entrances of private homes in Israeli communities within the Green Line.
Over the past month alone, 240 olive trees were cut down in the village of Borin, and another 200 in the village of Salem. At Borin, the Rabbis for Human Rights organization called in soldiers to help the Palestinians reach their land, after a settler lay down in front of a tractor to try to prevent it from being used. After the settler had been removed, olive trees were chopped down in the night in an act of vengeance. Police officers from the Judea and Samaria District announced that bad weather conditions would make it difficult for them to go out to collect testimony. At Salem, olive trees were chopped down after volunteers from kibbuzim had left the area they had come to protect from settlers. All this has been documented by newspapers. In one case, an identification card was found at the scene belonging to a settler from Elon Moreh, who was arrested and immediately released.
Shaul Mofaz and Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra, who is in charge of the police, do not need to appoint a committee to investigate this fiasco. They themselves need to be investigated.
