Women in Green leaders send letter to Foreign Minister Lieberman regarding the UN presence in Gush Etzion last week.Elad Benari

Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar of the Women in Green organization have sent a letter to Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman regarding the UN presence in Gush Etzion last week.

During a regular patrol by Women in Green in Netzer, a UN car with UN observers and Arabs was spotted at the field where Arabs had, two days earlier, uprooted Jewish trees and attacked three Jews.

The UN observers were filming the field and listening to the Arabs' explanations. When the Women in Green approached to film them, the Arabs made sure to hide their faces.

"The UN personnel reached the plot that according to the Israeli Civil Administration is definitely state land," Katsover and Matar wrote Lieberman. "Still, the Arabs are trying in a violent and illegal manner to take over that land. Our movement, Women in Green, has been operating for several years to protect and redeem land through planting of trees on state land illegally targeted by the Arabs. Overthe last few weeks, the Arabs uprooted five times tens of Jewish olive trees at the plot as well as attacked Jews.

They added, "We wish to point out that the latest incident marked at least the second time that we saw UN observers roaming in our area with their vehicle and cameras. The observers, who did not wear uniforms, were accompanied by and cooperating with the Arabs."

"We wish to protest in the strongest terms that the UN observers have been intervening in matters outside of the UN mandate. This is a blatant intervention of Israel's sovereignty over the area. The UN has no mandate to intervene in property disputes."

"We are requesting that that this matter be examined and dealt with as soon as possible."

Katsover and Matar have also sent the letter and the pictures they took to Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, MK Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) and MK Prof Aryeh Eldad (National Union). Elkin and Eldad head the Israel Lobby in the Knesset.

Israel National News

Background to this story:

A Rainy confrontation in Netzer

Women in Green Protest UN Presence in Netzer

Don't Bother Calling the Police in Israel

What is the United Nations doing in Netzer

Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar
Women in Green.org
Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
Email wfit2@womeningreen.org
www.womeningreen.org