Planet Ark World Environment News
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/30247/story.htm
April 6, 2005
Israel Probes Poisoning of Palestinian
Sheep
By Haitham Tamimi
HEBRON, West Bank - Israeli police said on Tuesday they were
investigating accusations that Jewish settlers killed sheep belonging
to Palestinians with poison in a bid to drive Palestinians off
their land in the West Bank.
A settler spokeswoman denied the Palestinian allegations that
Jews deposited wheat pellets laced with a deadly chemical on grazing
land near Hebron, killing 20 of their sheep. She accused Palestinians
of poisoning the land as a provocation.
It was the latest chapter in a history of bitter conflict between
rightist settlers who stake a biblical claim to occupied territory
and Palestinians who want it for an independent state.
The Palestinian governor of Hebron, Arif al-Jabari, told Reuters
that the poisoning was part of a "systematic attempt"
by settlers to clear the land of Palestinians.
"This is an escalation. They should leave our land,"
he said. "We will not stay silent. It (poison) led
to the death of 20 sheep and poisoning of 82 others that are fighting
for their lives."
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie told reporters: "This
is a very grave issue."
Palestinians and human rights groups have frequently accused
settlers of vigilante violence and acts of harassment aimed at
driving them off the land, but say investigations are rare.
POLICE INVESTIGATION
A spokesman for Israeli police in the occupied territory said
they had begun an investigation. Israeli military administration
spokesman Shlomo Dror said settlers could be responsible but an
investigation was needed to determine that.
"Some people are trying to make the lives of Palestinians
worse," Dror said, alluding to ultra-nationalist Jews in
the Hebron area of the southern West Bank. "This is a criminal
act."
Both Palestinian and Israeli officials said sheep poisoning was
unprecedented. "This is the first time we have seen this
kind of act with poison," said Dror.
"We have seen in the past violence against property, like
cutting trees and destroying houses and cars, or sometimes even
violence against people ... This is very bad," he said, alluding
to settler attacks on nearby Palestinian inhabitants.
Settlers have often been the target of suicide bombings and shooting
attacks since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000. A ceasefire
has been generally holding since February.
Settler spokeswoman Emily Amrusy accused Palestinians of spreading
the poison as a provocation. She said settlers had also filed
a complaint with police, although no animals belonging to settlers
had fallen sick or died.
"We are quite sure that these acts are not from the Jewish
people but from the Palestinians," she said.
Ramzi Sansur, a Palestinian toxicologist who examined the pellets
in a Bir Zeit university laboratory, said the chemical, Fluoroacetamide,
was "extremely toxic" and ordinarily used to kill rodents
in sewers.
Palestinian shepherds whose sheep graze in the area told Reuters
they saw settlers from a distance appearing to throw substances
into the fields in late March.
Days later, their sheep began to fall sick, they said. Some had
convulsions and died while others appeared drowsy and had difficulty
walking. Other animals including gazelles
and migratory birds also died, the Palestinian
toxicologist said.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah)