The Philadelphia Inquirer : Nov. 30

Fanatically spiteful :  Enjoying Olive Oil Missed by Settlers

As I sprinkled some first-cold-press Palestinian olive oil over my green salad, I thought of the villagers of Sawiya, near Nablus, whose olive trees were destroyed a couple of weeks ago by nearby Israeli settlers. They came at night from an outpost settlement with power saws, slicing through trunks and hacking off branches full of olives. Most of these trees are hundreds of years old, and after seeing the arid hills of the West Bank, I think this is not only a sacrilege but also a fanatically spiteful act toward Palestinians whose livelihood they are destroying.

More than a thousand Palestinian olive trees have been damaged or destroyed in recent weeks by Israelis. (The Settlers' Council disapproved but also said that Jews are entitled to harvest the produce of non-Jews in what the council defines as the "Land of Israel" which includes the West Bank.)

Joan Hazbun

NOTE : the last sentence in italics was edited out by the Philadelphia Inquirer.