Published by http://www.palestine-info.co.uk

Akub (gundelia), is used by Palestinians in casseroles after removing the thorns

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked a group of Palestinians while harvesting a favorite wild plant in the Jordan Valley on Monday.

Eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter in the area that the soldiers escorting patrols of the Israeli wildlife authority attacked, questioned, and threatened those farmers.

They said that the soldiers arrested one of the farmers for collecting the “Akub” plant (gundelia), which grows in the wilderness and which is a favorite meal in the Palestinian kitchen, in Khilat Makhul area.

The Israeli authority distributed leaflets warning farmers against collecting this kind of plant or else face a fine of more than one thousand dollars.

The IOF troops routinely exercise in the Jordan Valley, which Israel turned 95% of its land into closed military zone. The maneuvers destroy citizens’ property and wildlife in the Valley.

More than 37,000 Palestinian Bedouins live in the Jordan Valley and earn their living from rearing sheep.