Israeli soldiers stand near a Palestinian farmer waiting to reach a farm to harvest olives in an olive grove on the outskirts of the West Bank village of Yetma, 08 October 2018. EPA
Israeli soldiers stand near a Palestinian farmer waiting to reach a farm to harvest olives in an olive grove on the outskirts of the West Bank village of Yetma, 08 October 2018. EPA

Israeli settlers raze 1,000 planted trees in West Bank village



Israel settlers have razed around 1,000 planted trees in a West Bank village, according to Palestinian officials.

On Sunday, a group of ultra-nationalist Jewish extremists stormed Burqa, a village located near the West Bank city of Nablus.

They proceeded to destroy hundreds of tree saplings meant to turn the village land into a nature reserve, according to Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the West Bank.

The planting of 1,000 trees was coordinated between the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture and the village's local council, Mr Daghlas, who was quoted by Palestinian news agency Maan, said.

Settlers regularly target Palestinian plots, including olive trees and vines, in a bid to harass them and prevent them from harvesting on land they consider to be theirs according to the Bible. Between May and July 2018, Israeli rights group B'Tselem documented 10 attacks on Palestinian farmland that destroyed more than 2,000 trees and grapevines, as well as burning down a barley field and bales of hay.

Some leave behind graffiti in what is known as "price tag" attacks, with statements such as "there's no place we won't reach".

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Rights groups say that such violence takes place under the watch of Israeli soldiers and police, who fail to hold the settlers to account or prevent their attacks. A portion of the Palestinian farmers targeted fail to report the incidents because they lack trust in the Israeli authorities to do anything about their claims.

Such violence helps Israel's desire to expand its presence in the West Bank, rights groups say, as more Palestinian farmers are dispossessed of their land or leave because of the harassment.

More than 400,000 settlers live in the West Bank and another 150,000 live in East Jerusalem. They are protected by thousands of Israeli soldiers who serve one of the biggest militaries in the world. Palestinians fear that Israel plans to annex the entire West Bank in order to prevent a sovereign Palestinian state on its border and ensure a "Greater Israel", the area that right-wing Israelis believe to be the homeland of the Jewish people.

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

The National in Davos

We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

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Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

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