Holy Land: Rabbis protect Palestinian farmer from Israeli army trying to obstruct his olive harvest

Thanks to the intervention of Rabbis for Human Rights, a Palestinian farmer in the Gush Etzion region on the West Bank near Bethlehem was able to continue his harvest, after soldiers had attempted to obstruct the work.

The farmer is from the Slebi family who the Rabbis have assisted for years with their agricultural work. Although his land is in an area that does not require coordination with the army, the authorities nevertheless attempted to prevent him from continuing to do his work.

Rabbis for Human Rights in turn contacted the responsible officers in the area, allowing for the issue to be quickly addressed, and the farmer was then permitted to return to his work.

Although this story had a positive resolution, many farmers do not receive such assistance and their agricultural yield is needlessly damaged. In light of the positive response by the officers in this situation, RHR say they wonder why the army simply does not make their protocols for their soldiers in the field more clear, and why, when someone is working their lands in an area that does not require coordination, is access prevented in the first place?

Gush Etzion consists of 22 illegal settlements south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem on the West Bank with a population of 70,000. The settlements are illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disregards this.

Read more about the work of Rabbis for Human Rights here: http://rhr.org.il/eng/