Documenting a Crime
A collection of publications chronicling the narratives of Palestinian farmers who have witnessed the uprooting of their olive trees by Israeli soldiers.
Photographs by my friend, Hadeel Cato
“A year ago, in February, the Israelis attacked my land. When I reached it I saw 30 different vehicles. Bulldozers, trucks, government cars, and they had 25 workers. Three of them had chainsaws. Each olive tree did not take more than seconds to fall. When I saw this I was blinded by anger. I felt as if they are butchering my children or amputating my arms. I started screaming. An Israeli officer asked me why I was enraged. I said what do you mean, why are you cutting off the trees? He asked me to whom do these trees belong? I said to me. He asked me if I have official papers to prove this claim. I said I do have ownership papers but why are you asking me for them now? As if you first kill a man and then ask him for his identification card. After you have killed someone, what do you want from his ID card? You have now cut off the trees, what do you want to do with the paper? That day, the Israelis cut 150 of my olive trees.”