Arabs Destroy 2.5 Acres of Vineyard in Samaria, Locals Say

Some 3,000 vines, situated near Shiloh in Samaria, were destroyed over the past few days, it was discovered this morning.

The vineyards are visited every few days during this season, so the precise time of the destruction is unclear.

The damage is estimated at 200,000 NIS.

Footprints leading to the Arab village of Kutzrah were discovered by IDF trackers during their initial investigation. About a year ago, a 1/4 of an acre was destroyed in the same vineyard.

"This morning we discovered the difficult scene of some 3,000 destroyed vines," Itamar Weiss, a worker at the vineyards, told Tazpit News Agency. "This is the fourth time this vineyard has been targeted in the past years."

Israeli Police said an investigation has been launched to discover the culprits.

Weiss said that residents "expect these crimes to be treated with the same force that crimes throughput the rest of Israel are treated and investigated."

This incident is one of many attacks apparently executed by Arabs against Jewish agriculture and farming in Judea and Samaria.

In the beginning of November 2012, Tazpit News Agency reported that a herd of some 400 goats was stolen from Avraham Hertzlich, a farmer from the Benyamin area.

An olive grove near Shiloh, owned by Erez Ben Sa'adon, was vandalized at around the same time. Many of the trees were uprooted or cut down, and the irrigation system was damaged.

About a month ago, 70 heads of sheep were stolen from a pen in Sussia.