TEL AVIV, October 10, 2010 (WAFA)_ Human rights group Yesh Din, which is part of a coalition of NGOs which are helping Palestinians during the olive harvest season, issued Sunday a letter to several high-ranking figures in Israel, stating that under international law, Israel is obligated to protect Palestinians and their property.

The letter was sent to Israeli Security Minister Ehud Barak, Central Command General Avi Mizrahi, The police chief of the Judea and Samaria district Hagai Dotan and the Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein.

At the same time, rights group Rabbis for Human Rights, another member of the Olive Harvest Coalition, reported that Palestinian farmers in five villages surrounding the settlement of Havat Gilad discovered that about 600 of their olive trees have been harvested, and the olives were stolen. The villages are Jit, Til, Imatin, Fra'ata and Sara.

'The olive harvest season is beginning', said the letter, signed by Yesh Din public council chairman Paul Keidar. 'For Palestinians, this is a significant time, in which they should be given the opportunity to reach their lands and harvest their property. This activity, which is their basic right, is often disturbed by extremists among the settlers, who take the law to their hands and carry out crimes. It should be mentioned that Israel is obligated to protect Palestinian property under international law and based on the rulings of the Israeli High Court of Justice. We expect you to inform the members of the security forces and those who are in charge of law enforcement to allow Palestinians to harvest their olives without impediments.'