Felled olive trees lead to violence

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BIDOU, West Bank -- Israeli workers with chain saws cut down a Palestinian farmer's olive grove yesterday to make way for a West Bank security barrier, sparking a clash in which at least 15 Palestinian villagers and two Israeli police officers were wounded.

The wrecking crew later replanted some of the 180 stumps on another plot, but villagers gave the trees little or no chance of survival in the dry season.

Construction of the barrier has sparked almost daily clashes as it cuts through Palestinian farmland and isolates West Bank villages. Israel says the series of fences, trenches and concrete walls are needed to stop Palestinian suicide bombers. The Palestinians denounce the barrier as a land grab.

The project is part of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan of "disengagement" from the Palestinians. In addition to imposing a new boundary in the West Bank, Israel plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said he will go to Washington this month to talk with senior U.S. officials about the Gaza plan.

Palestinians say they welcome any Israeli withdrawal, but fear Israel is giving up Gaza to tighten its hold on much of the West Bank, where the bulk of the 220,000 Israeli settlers live.

Mr. Shaath said he would meet Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on April 21, a week after Mr. Sharon holds talks with President Bush.

Mr. Sharon is seeking U.S. endorsement for his plan. Mr. Shaath said U.S. officials assured him they would not make a decision on the Gaza plan before hearing the Palestinian side.

Early yesterday in the village of Bidou, northwest of Jerusalem, a wrecking crew with chain saws and five bulldozers started cutting down farmer Mahmoud Saadeh's olive trees.

"My olives, my olives," Mr. Saadeh, 75, yelled as he threw rocks at workers sawing away at his grove. "I've worked on this land for 20 years. ... This is our livelihood."

Staff at the Israeli Defense Ministry, which oversees construction of the barrier, could not be reached for comment yesterday, the third day of the weeklong Jewish holiday of Passover.