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Olive branch a symbol of strife
By CNN's Ben Wedeman
AQRABA, West Bank (CNN) -- It seems that in the Middle East, the olive branch is no longer a symbol of peace, but one of strife. October is the time to bring in the olive crop -- an abundant one this year -- but a bounty spoiled by a bitter harvest of violence. Israeli police say they are investigating incidents in which Jewish settlers are accused of burning and cutting down Palestinian olive trees. Last week, 24-year-old Hani Al-Maniya was shot dead while picking olives outside his village of Aqraba, near the settlement of Itamar. Hani's cousin, Fouad, was with him when he was shot, and says settlers were responsible. Down in the valley, a tractor from Itamar ploughs a field once farmed by the Palestinian villagers. Itamar has been the target of repeated Palestinian attacks which have, during the last two years, left 11 dead, including women and children. Itamar resident Yaacov Hayman denies the settlers killed anyone, however he warns Palestinians will not be allowed near the settlement. "If they can't live like human beings, they won't pick olives here. They'll starve here. I don't care. They won't be here to butcher us," he said. Palestinian villagers say they were not involved in those attacks, and should not be punished for them. "How can we leave our land," asks village leader Musa Nijm. "It's our livelihood. Are they to live and we to die?" The Israeli army says it will protect Palestinian olive pickers, but farmers complain the army does little to stop settlers from harassing them. Israeli soldiers question Daoud Shtaya and his son Mohamed in their olive grove. Olive picking is forbidden today, the soldiers tell them. The soldiers bind Mohamed's hands, blindfold him and take him away. He had left his identification card at home. Daoud says his olive trees are his life. "I raise each tree," he says. "For four, five, six, seven years I water each one, until it becomes old enough to feed me." Palestinians say each tree is worth around $300, and yields about $50 worth of oil a year. Building bridgesAmid the troubles, there is, however, an attempt to build bridges -- Israeli peace activists help the villagers of Kifl Harith pick olives. One of the activists tries to convince a settler the farmers must not be made to pay for the violence of others. Rabbi Arik Asherman has long campaigned to protect the rights of Palestinians. "My view is that, as a Jew, we shouldn't be doing that," he said. "Revenge is not part of who we are. We have to come up with some sort of response that reflects a tradition that speaks of dignity and humanity and some sort of understanding. "We all, Palestinians and Israelis, if we are all going to survive in this land, we must become truly the children of Abraham. "And being children of Abraham does not mean just fighting over the inheritance of this land. It means living up to the moral inheritance that Abraham bequeathed to us." Both sides claim the land on which the olive trees grow -- and both sides say they have no intention of relinquishing those claims. This is more than just a fight over the olive harvest. It is a struggle for control of the land, and control of the land is at the heart of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.
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