Qalandiya

Last Thursday evening, soldiers arrived
at the threshhold of the Doctor's family whose house is located in
the "war zone" (mentioned in an earlier report by RH),
saying that they must move in -- no explanation, or written order,
or apology. On Friday, a bulldozer arrived -- again no explanation,
written order, or apology, with many soldiers. Some were on the
roof with rifles pointed at the family, who tried to block the
bulldozer from doing what it came for, and eventually did. The
family chose to live. And the bulldozer uprooted 100 olive trees,
the family's 50 year old beautiful loved grove, leaving behind
remains of the soldiers incessant abuse of this area: bullets and
gas bombs emerging from beneath the newly exposed earth. The
driver, it turned out, after finishing his business, told them his
heart weeps for those innocent trees, that he was only following
orders. The next day we asked someone from the army about this
incident. It was simply a mistake they explained, the bulldozer
driver was only ordered to chop down some cactuses but he made a
mistake and chopped the olive trees as well. One hundred olive
trees. It was a mistake.