Residents of the Binyamin District discovered early Thursday afternoon that the Nachalei Tal vineyard had been vandalized and all of the young seedlings were uprooted. In addition, a structure on the site was set on fire and damaged. The vineyard belongs to a resident of nearby Dolev, Shlomi Cohen.
The residents noted that Arabs have vandalized the vineyard four times in the past. The vineyard is on state-owned land which was leased by the Jewish Agency to Cohen. The vineyard suffered damages of hundreds of thousands of shekels in several attacks over the past two years, and the damage in the latest act of vandalism is again estimated to be in the same range.
Residents complained of the police's inability to protect Jewish property. "Specifically now, when we are portrayed as 'lawbreakers' because of our natural and legitimate desire to continue to build houses in our communities – it makes sense that the law enforcement forces would put their efforts into locating the true lawbreakers who destroy legal Jewish property,” they said. “We demand that the Shin Bet, the IDF and the police locate those responsible for the ongoing destruction in the region and bring to justice the vandals and those who send them on their missions.”
The grassroots Binyamin Residents' Council said in response that “the uprooting which took place at the same spot for the fifth time is evidence of the contempt with which the police and the IDF treat the settlers' human rights and their property rights.”