In Tel Rumeida (a Palestinian neighborhood in Hebron, in which there is a Jewish settlement) there’s friction, the Jewish settlers believe these olives are theirs (an olive grove near the settlement). The fact is these trees are Roman Olive trees, here for some 2,000 years, and it isn't the settlers' land. So a decree is issued, and they station a Yasam unit (Israel Police Special Patrol Unit), and the Yasam see to it that the [Palestinian] olive harvest takes place.

Was there a violent situation on behalf of the settlers? There was, there was. And the next day we made sure the Palestinians would enter and plow their lands, with the Yasam. The Palestinians would harvest to the last olive. To tell you that sometimes at night [the settlers] don't steal and vandalize and things like that? They do. In (the settlement of) Pnei Hever, after a few years during which the Palestinian owner didn't enter his land, the settlers knew that he wanted to come cultivate and harvest, so they hung up a sign, "Mohammad's a pig" and vandalized a few olive trees.

What do you do about it? Police.

Who reports these things? Palestinians who arrive at the scene. The next day, the Palestinian is about to enter the area and sees the signs and the vandalism. We referred him to the police, we don't deal with criminal incidents. But the police are problematic. Either they don't have the manpower, or they don't want to deal with these incidents, or they're afraid of the settlers, or all of the above.

Will a District Coordination Office representative arrive? He’ll arrive, take photos, document, refer the Palestinian to the police, and potentially submit a complaint it there's a culprit. I have no one to submit a complaint about, the perpetrators are unknown. At Havat Ma'on, 30 trees were cut down, and trees were cut down every month or two. They brought a tracker, and the footprints led into a certain house in Havat Ma'on, and the police called an officer from the Civil Administration and told him what the tracker said. An authorized tracker, for whom this is his profession, said that the footprints led to a certain house.

Were you ever summoned to court? No. Generally, the army is the sovereign. But follow up on a complaint? No.